Home Sweet Home
by Earthling
Summary: Someone from back home has shown up on Voyager! But is she even more lost than they are?
1. Default Chapter

Home Sweet Home The following story line is mine. Don't try to copy it cause I'll get mad  
In a like vein, Star Trek: Voyager and all characters are the sole property of someone other than me.  
  
AN: You'll have to forgive large generalizations. I haven't seen enough Voyager! To get the background, read "The Hopper" in the Original Series and "Pit Stop" in Next Gen.  
  
Tom Paris was simply walking down the corridor on his way to work. His mind was on several things at once, as it often was. He was thinking about Be'Lanna, about new ways to get the best efficiency from the computers, the strange glitch in the starboard shields and how to fix them. He was not, however, paying much attention to where he was going or what was in his way. The corridors were usually quite clear and he had never had a need to pay much attention before. He knew the ship inside and out and so his feet would automatically take him wherever he wanted to go without his brain giving much direction.  
So he tripped. He hadn't even registered the fact until his nose smashed into the deck. But after he had recognized the fact that he'd fallen, he realized what he'd fallen /over/.  
"What the..." he asked the thin air as he got to his knees and turned around. There was a girl lying on the floor! Where had she come from? She was on her stomach, her chestnut-red hair tangled all about her head. He quickly flipped her over on her back. She was quite lovely and he stopped for a second at the sight of her. She was moaning and her head was rolling from side to side a bit.  
"Hey, hey, are you okay?" She was in very old fashioned clothes, he'd say they were about a hundred years old though he wasn't as proficient in his fashion history as he would've liked. She wasn't answering, though he was tapping her cheek lightly now.  
"Paris to Sickbay, medical emergency. I'm bringing you a girl"  
"A girl?" the Doctor's voice repeated.  
"Look, I'll tell you the rest when I get there!" Paris replied, sliding arms under her knees and her neck, lifting her off the deck. He'd just gotten to his feet when she suddenly tried to sit up in his arms, risking his balance. He wasn't the strongest person in the universe and a full grown woman wasn't the lightest load.  
"SPOCK!" she cried, and she looked at him with terror in her eyes, "JIM! Spock, JIM, JIM!" she cried loudly and then fainted again in his arms.  
"Spock?" Tom repeated, confused, and started toward Sickbay. On the way he reviewed what had happened. Even not paying attention much, he would have noticed a woman lying in the middle of the corridor. It was then that he realized she hadn't /been/ there, until the second he'd tripped over her! As if she had suddenly been transported onto the ship, except there had been no signs of transportation.  
The Doctor and Kes were waiting when he got there.  
"Put her there" Kes instructed him and he laid the woman down on the bio bed.  
"She is not one of the crew" the Doctor remarked, "Where did she come from?"  
"I don't know" Tom replied, a little out of breath. Just then the Captain and Chakotay walked in.  
"What's going on, Tom?" the Captain asked, "The Doctor said you were bringing an emergency down" She glanced at the girl, "Who is she?"  
"I don't know, Captain" Tom replied, "She just...popped in"  
"Popped in?" Chakotay repeated, "What's that mean?"  
"I don't know. One minute there was nothing, the next she was there. I tripped over her" Tom tried to explain, knowing it wasn't any good.  
"That doesn't make any sense, Tom" the Captain told him. He already knew that.  
"I know that" he said. She sighed and moved to the patient.  
"What's wrong with her doctor?" she asked.  
"Well. She's severely dehydrated, she's also undernourished, she's been exposed to extremely low temperatures and...." the Doctor looked up in surprise, "And she is pregnant"  
"Pregnant?" Chakotay repeated. People seemed to be doing a lot of that today.  
"Yes" the Doctor confirmed.  
"Doctor, is she human?" the Captain asked. She certainly looked human.  
"Yes, according to my readings" the Doctor answered.  
"There aren't any humans in this part of the galaxy" Chakotay said needlessly.  
"So where did she come from?" the Captain asked. She didn't expect anyone to answer.  
"She said 'Spock' " Tom suddenly blurted out, "Actually, she shouted it. And 'Jim' too"  
"Spock? As in Ambassador Spock, of Vulcan?" the Captain asked.  
"That's what she shouted, Captain" Tom affirmed. The Captain turned to Chakotay.  
"Well what's that supposed to mean?" she asked quietly, "Doctor does she pose any threat to the ship?"  
"Of course not" the Doctor answered.  
"Just checking" the Captain tried to smooth his feathers, "Keep me apprised. We need to know who she is"  
"May I suggest," the Doctor said at his smuggest, "That she may be able to answer all of your questions once she's recovered?" The Captain looked at Chakotay and both left without responding. 


	2. Where's Jim?

Home Sweet Home The following story line is mine. Don't try to copy it cause I'll get mad  
In a like vein, Star Trek: Voyager and all characters are the sole property of someone other than me.  
  
AN: This is a story spanning years, so if it skips a lot, just use your imagination.  
  
"How is she?"  
"She's improving" the Doctor answered, busying himself with taking more readings of his unusual patient. Chakotay ran his eyes over her face. She was striking. Not beautiful in a classic way, but certainly more than attractive. He wondered what it was about her that drew him so. She seemed to draw to everyone, though, because since he'd been down here Tom Paris had come in twice, to check on her he'd said, and Kes wouldn't move far from her side. The Doctor seemed to be the only one resistant to the strange pull.  
She had long chestnut-red hair. Chakotay estimated it probably reached her waist. He had no idea what color her eyes were for she hadn't opened them once in the nearly 12 hours she'd been in Sickbay. She had soft, somewhere-between-red-and-tan skin, but it fit her he thought. She didn't look very old, he thought maybe in her early twenties. Too young to be popping up on lost ships. Too young to be pregnant was what he was really thinking.  
She sucked in a breath and her shoulders tensed up, but she didn't open her eyes.  
"Doctor, I think she's waking up" Chakotay announced.  
"Jim?" the girl mumbled, "Bones......Jim......" she said the names as if she were trying to tell this "Bones" something about Jim.  
"Jim? Jim?"  
"Shhhh...it's okay" Chakotay told her. She was restless. He brushed a hand across her face and held her other hand, hoping the touch of another human being would comfort her somewhat.  
"Jim" she sighed almost contentedly, turning her head toward his touch. Her eyes fluttered and then opened. Chakotay had just enough time to register that they were an amazing crystal green.  
And then she saw him.  
"My name is Chakotay" he told her. She burst into tears  
"Will you please stop upsetting my patient?" The Doctor requested. She was sobbing hopelessly now, her body shivering with the effort. Chakotay was confused. What had he done?  
"She's awake?" the Captain asked a few minutes later when she walked into Sickbay.  
"She's awake all right" Chakotay answered, "She's been sobbing hysterically" The girl wasn't trying to run away, she wasn't deterring the doctor, she was just laying on her back, letting the tears roll down her face. They had gathered into a little pool on her throat. The Captain took a breath, mentally steeling herself for an onslaught, and approached the poor girl, who was hiccupping now. Chakotay followed.  
"My name is Katharine Jane...my name is Katharine" the Captain restated. A look of empathy crossed her face.  
"Can you tell me your name?" The girl caught a couple of her sobs and snuffled, but she couldn't speak yet. The Captain sighed.  
"You're aboard the Federation ship, Voyager. You've been unconscious for almost twelve hours" The news didn't help the young girl's disposition any. She let out another wail and then, out of nowhere and faster than anyone there would have expected her to be able to move, she jumped off the bio bed and tried to dash out of the room. Chakotay sprinted after her. He grabbed her just before she made it out the doors and wrapped both arms around her to keep her from getting away. She beat a fist against his chest but there was no strength behind it. Tears were still running like waterfalls down her face and she folded into him, using him for support. She lost the strength in her legs and slid to the floor. Chakotay followed, for his arms were still tightly wrapped around her, no longer to keep her from escaping however. He felt she simply needed to be held by another human being.  
"Doctor?" Janeway turned to the Doctor.  
"She's perfectly recovered, though she'll probably be a bit tired." The holographic Doctor answered.  
"Have you determined what might have caused her condition?" the Captain asked. She wanted to be determine if there was any possible threat to the ship in the immediate area.  
"No idea, actually" the Doctor answered, his eyes sliding away as they did when he was thinking particularly hard, "There were no signs of torture or extreme exposure to the elements"  
"Are there any other causes of dehydration or malnutrition?" Janeway asked.  
"No. A person doesn't just stop drinking water or eating" the Doctor said as if the Captain should know that perfectly well, "Especially a pregnant person. It defies the law of survival" Janeway turned a bit back towards the girl who was still being held by her first officer on the floor. Her whole body seemed to be shaking with the effort of pouring the tears forth.  
"Yes, you'd said she was pregnant. How is the baby?" she asked, turning back to the Doctor.  
"Captain" Chakotay said softly. The girl had lifted her head from his chest and, while she still clung to him as if he were her life force and tears were still falling, her loud sobbing had stopped and she looked extremely interested in the Doctor's answer. The Captain gave him a look and he addressed the girl directly.  
"You're children are fine" he assured her in an empathic tone.  
"Twins?" Janeway asked.  
"Yes. One male and one female" the Doctor answered, "About four months I'd say" Janeway sighed quietly. Pregnant women could be very emotional, and this girl had obviously been through something extremely distressing. She turned around and hunched down beside the crumpled figure, who had returned her head to Chakotay's chest but had not resumed her hysterical sobbing. The Captain tried to smile at her.  
"Why don't we get you some quarters? Maybe some food and a change of clothes?" The girl nodded slightly. Chakotay helped her to her feet, but she wasn't ready to relinquish her hold of him. Privately, Janeway thought the girl was too young to be pregnant. She couldn't be older than 20, though she kept that to herself for Chakotay and others had estimated her age around 25 and it would probably be better for the poor thing in the future if people thought she were older than she actually was. Of course, there was always the chance that the Captain was wrong too. They didn't even have her name yet!  
As they made their way down the corridors the girl stopped crying and became very quiet. Almost too quiet in Janeway's opinion. She looked down at her feet and allowed herself to be led to appropriate quarters. Tuvok was waiting outside the door and the girl's eyebrows lifted a bit at the sight of him.  
"Vulcans" she mumbled and it was the first word, other than "Jim" or "Spock" that any of them had heard her speak. She stopped just inside the doorway and looked around. Janeway thought she had a surprised look on her face, and maybe a bit of appreciation too.  
"Would you like something to eat?" the Captain asked, going towards the replicator. The girl looked and then, seemingly just realizing she was still in Chakotay's embrace, she disengaged herself. She didn't answer, she just walked to the window and started staring out at the stars.  
"They're different" she said, spinning around, a worried look on her face. Janeway caught the look that Chakotay threw her. Whose pleasurable job was it going to be to tell this girl from who knew where, who'd gone through who knew what, that she was on the only human occupied vessel in this quadrant of space? Janeway decided it was hers.  
"Yes. We're not in the Alpha quadrant" she told her. The girl looked confused. Janeway tried to think of a simpler way to explain it without saying the two words she rarely let herself even think. But there was nothing for it.  
"We're lost" she said tenderly, "We're.completely cut off from that part of the galaxy we originated from" The girl stared at her for a moment and then swung back around to look at the stars. Janeway could just see her profile and there was a look of the complete abandonment of hope on her young face. It pulled at Janeway's heart. She, Chakotay and Tuvok simply stood there, silently, watching whatever hopes and dreams the girl had harbored seeped away from her. They all felt a sense of despair enter the room and, Janeway and Chakotay at least, felt the need to burst into tears.  
  
Then the girl turned back towards them. Her face had changed. It now looked as if it had been carved of marble, smooth and beautiful, but hard and cold.  
"My name is Deneb. Deneb Darling-Kirk. I'm a hopper" 


	3. The Girl From Enterprise

Home Sweet Home The following story line is mine. Don't try to copy it cause I'll get mad  
In a like vein, Star Trek: Voyager and all characters are the sole property of someone other than me.  
  
Deneb told them her story. She couldn't explain the things they wanted to know; how did this happen? Why? She'd never had those answers herself. They noticed that she told the whole story with complete emotional detachment. They understood when she got to the part about the Enterprise.  
"I was there for..ten months? Eleven? Almost a year anyway" she said with a glance at the stars.  
"You were married to James T. Kirk?" Janeway asked, just to make sure she hadn't been hearing things. But Deneb nodded and placed a hand over her stomach.  
"These two are his" she said softly and closed her eyes, perhaps against the sting of more tears. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes again. She looked at the two of them expectantly.  
"Well" Janeway said. She didn't know what to say. She would have Tuvok check her story on the computers later. Her story was not, however, unbelievable. There were so many strange and bizarre things that Voyager alone had come up against, not to mention every one of the Enterprise's and every other ship in the Federation.  
"I suppose the best thing to do would be go get you settled" she finished.  
"Settled?" Deneb asked.  
"Yes. We'll find you something to do on the ship, something to occupy you're time with" Janeway clarified.  
"Ah" Deneb did not look happy, "With all do respect, Captain, I don't think I really want anything to do. At least, not yet"  
"Of course" Janeway understood. Her was yet another person who had been ripped from her home. Janeway had had to council so many of them. This girl's situation was different however. She had absolutely no hope of ever finding her way home again.  
"Of course" she repeated and stood up to leave. Deneb remained on the couch. Chakotay stood up too and nodded at her.  
"Tea?" Deneb suddenly asked, "How do I get some?"  
"Commander Chakotay, will you stay and acquaint our guest with the amenities?"  
"Of course, Captain" Chakotay replied. Janeway stopped, just before getting out the door.  
"For all it's worth" she smiled wanly, "Welcome on board" Deneb didn't actually smile, but there was amusement in her eyes.  
"Well" Chakotay turned back to his "ward", "I'll give you the tour" She nodded slightly.  
"Ah, this is a replicator" she listened silently as he explained it's uses and showed her how to work it.  
"Most people eat in the galley, though" he told her and led her down. Neelix was on duty though he was not being swamped with business.  
"Neelix, this is Deneb" Chakotay made introductions, "Neelix is our morale officer" Something in his tone made Deneb want to smile. She suspected Neelix wasn't exactly the person who kept morale up on the ship.  
"Hello!" Neelix greeted her happily, "Would you like something? I've a wonderful batch of Slurian Pancakes ready!"  
"No, thank you" Deneb demurred, with only the tiniest of polite smiles.  
"We have to go, Neelix" Chakotay said quickly and they turned to go.  
"Oh, Commander!" Neelix put his spatula down and came around the counter.  
"We'll need to re-supply soon" he said, lowering his voice conspiratorially.  
"Tom, Harry and Tuvok are looking for a suitable planet now, Neelix" the Commander said.  
"Ah!" Neelix exclaimed as if he had gained some personal glory, "Good, good! I'll see you two later, then!" Chakotay exchanged a look with Deneb as the two left.  
"Interesting fellow" Deneb commented.  
"You have no idea" Chakotay grimaced but continued the tour. Deneb seemed especially interested in the holideck. She asked a dozen questions about how to create a program.  
"I suppose you've never heard of such a thing before" Chakotay said as he escorted her back to her room. She was looking a bit tired.  
"I've heard of hologram's before, but I've never seen anything that sophisticated" Deneb answered absently, "The Enterprise didn't have anything like that"  
"Well, if you need any help with them, just call someone. The Captain said you'd be issued a com badge" Deneb nodded, fingering something around her neck. When her fingers dropped, Chakotay was surprised to see something familiar.  
"That's the Federation Emblem!" Deneb looked down as if trying to see it.  
"Jim gave it to me for my birthday" she said quietly. Chakotay realized he'd brought up a painful memory.  
"It's beautiful" he told her quietly, hoping it would help. He understood the anguish she was going through. Everyone on the ship would. Though, as the Captain concluded, Chakotay knew her pain must be a thousand times worse than any of theirs had been.  
"Thanks" They were at her quarters.  
"Well, I'm sure someone will be down later to check on you" Chakotay told her, "The Doctor will probably want to see you again" Her hand drifted unconsciously over her slightly rounded belly.  
"Thanks. I think I'll.go take a nap" she said and disappeared into her quarters. Chakotay shook his head, as if trying to rid himself of an intoxicating smell, and headed up to the Bridge.  
"How is she?" Janeway asked.  
"She's..tried" Chakotay answered, "She's resting in her quarters"  
"Captain" Tuvok called from his station. Janeway and Chakotay joined him. "Her story does check out" he reported, "There are records of her presence on both the original Enterprise under Captain Archer, and more extensively under Captain Kirk"  
"Is there any record of their marriage?" the Captain inquired.  
"Yes. Captain James T. Kirk and Deneb Janelle Darling were married by Ambassador Spock, as he was the first officer" Tuvok answered.  
"All right. At least we know she's telling the truth, and she's not insane" Janeway organized her thoughts out loud.  
"Captain, there is something odd attached to her file" Tuvok said.  
"What is it?" Chakotay asked.  
"There are three messages for her" Tuvok answered, "One each from James T. Kirk, Admiral Leonard McCoy and Ambassador Spock" 


	4. The Company You Keep

Home Sweet Home The following story line is mine. Don't try to copy it cause I'll get mad  
In a like vein, Star Trek: Voyager and all characters are the sole property of someone other than me.  
  
"Hello"  
"Hello" She didn't move away from the door. She looked suspicious of him. Her story had already been released to the command crew so he thought he had an idea of why she would be wary of anyone. She'd be feeling like she couldn't get close to anyone ever again, lest she hop and her heart be ripped out again.  
"My name is Tom Paris" he told her with a smile, "I was the one that tripped over you"  
"Ah" she nodded with understanding and finally moved away from the door, leaving it open for him. He followed her in and took a look around. She obviously hadn't had the chance to individualize anything yet, so the room was rather standard.  
"Would you like something to drink?" she asked, "This thing can apparently make you anything you want, except a good Coke"  
"Coke?" Tom asked, looking at the replicator. He found it hard to believe there was anything it couldn't reproduce.  
"Coca Cola" she said with a flippant glance, curling herself up on the couch that sat beneath the long window, "It's a soda pop. Soft drink. They stopped making it during the 3rd World War, apparently"  
"Well, I'm sure we could program the computer to make it" he said, "Do you have any idea what was in it?" She snorted.  
"No idea."  
"Computer, search, components, Coca Cola, 20th century drink, soda pop or soft drink" he said into the air. They all tended to look up towards the ceiling a bit when making a request of the computer, unless they were focused on something else.  
"Searching" the computer replied and then was silent for a moment.  
"Computer download information into the replicator" Tom ordered and crossed to the replicator, on the left side of the room. Deneb slowly got up and crept up behind him, not daring to hope this young man might've just provided her with the means to have a Coke, something she'd been desperately craving for months now. She wondered if her pregnancy had anything to do with such a strong craving.  
The computer made a beep, alerting the humans that it had found the appropriate information.  
"Computer, a Coke please" Tom said smugly and stood back while the request appeared in the terminal. Deneb's eyes had widened sufficiently to appease him as she approached the terminal. She took the glass in both hands and closed her eyes as she poured the contents down her throat. A little sigh escaped her as she swallowed down the first sip.  
"Oh! You don't know how good that is!" she exclaimed, finally opening her eyes, "And it's even in a Coke cup!" Tom regarded the oddly shaped cup with the word "Coke" painted on. Well, as long as it made her happy.  
"Well, Tom Paris, against my will you've become my friend" She had the computer refill her cup and then carried it to the couch again. Tom followed and took a seat in a chair.  
"Tell me more about these computer archives" she asked, "They have the components of Coke secreted away, what else do they have?"  
"Anything you want, almost" he answered. He liked talking about the computers, he had a silly sort of personal pride in them, even though he was a helmsman and not an engineer.  
"Well, what about old TV shows, or movies?" she asked.  
"Sure, probably" Tom answered. She was very interested in what she could get from her past, apparently, and who would blame her? This ship could give her something she was familiar with at least, like the Coke.  
"And books, do you have any of those?" she asked.  
"I think every book written from every culture the Federation has ever encountered is in the computer" he answered with a lopsided grin. His humor was lost on her, although he could see she appreciated it, which confused him. She just wasn't in the mood to laugh.  
"What about real books?"  
"I'm not sure. Most people have a small personal collection" he told her, "I'm sure you could find someone to let you borrow some if you want" he answered thoughtfully. He had a few, four to be exact, but he doubted it was anything she would want to read.  
"So, what else is there to do on this ship, then, other than work?" she asked. He wasn't sure what she was asking for. Recreation? A job? He had heard she had told the Captain she didn't want a job. He wasn't privy to the details of her last "stop" but he assumed she'd become rather fond of the crew, after almost a year.  
"Well, most people find something to do. The holidecks, of course, provide plenty of distraction" he started, thinking of what others might do for recreation on the ship. To tell the truth, he didn't think there was much time for 'play', not with the constant repairs and stops to re-supply and all the mapping to be done. But a person had to have some off time so he did his best to think of what he did with his.  
"What about the arts?" she asked. Ah, this Tom knew the answer to!  
"You can get paint and canvas from stores if you want" he told her, hoping this would be something that peaked her interest. She nodded at him, looking down into her now empty glass. He could tell she'd suddenly become disturbed by something. She looked up at him again.  
"You kinda remind me of my little brother" she said softly, with a little curve of her lips.  
"Really?" Tom tried to sound like he felt honored. From the look of it she had been close to this "little brother." Gods! Did the girl's pain never end?  
"His name was David" she told him, but she had turned her attention to the stars and he got the feeling she was more speaking her thoughts out loud than actually talking to the other person in the room, "He was a great kid, for being a little brother and all. He was two years younger than me. He was fourteen last I saw him. He had a penchant for playing tricks on people, especially for their birthdays. He loved April Fool's day, it was the best holiday for him. He just liked to make people laugh, he liked to help people. I wonder what ever happened to him" She sounded like she was speaking about a friend from grammar school that she hadn't been particularly close to, but remembered well. Tom felt bad that she had to separate herself like that. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know if he should say anything. He felt like they'd just had a very intimate conversation, although it hadn't been anything two people just meeting for the first time might not exchange. She was still staring out at the stars, which were zooming by at Warp 2. They had found a suitable planet to re- supply at and they were headed there now.  
"Computer, music. 20th century band, the Chieftains. Tears of Stone album, track 12" she suddenly said. A mournful Celtic sound filled the air.  
"Wow" Tom said, "You remembered something that specific?" He was surprised, but not very. People remembered detailed things all the time.  
"My memory seems to be improving every time I hop" she said, still facing the window. He'd hit a nerve again. Maybe he should just stop speaking. Or maybe he should just go, and leave her with her memories, painful as they were.  
Before he could turn the thought into action, a beeping alerted them to someone at the door.  
"Come" Deneb called, her voice distant as if she was answering something in a dream that just happened to coincide with reality. The doors slid aside and the Captain entered the room.  
"Lt. Paris" she nodded at him. She had a severe look on her face. "Will you please excuse us?" Tom stood.  
"I was just leaving anyway" he told her and started out the door.  
"Tom?" Deneb's call stopped him. She had turned back around. Her lips curved, just on the right side and just for an instant.  
"Thanks for the company" she said. He nodded with a smile and left, feeling like he'd done something to help her and feeling good about it.  
When the doors had slid closed again behind Tom, Janeway turned to the girl who was still seated on the couch, looking up at her. Janeway sat down so she was on eye level with her.  
"We found something in the computer" she started slowly, knowing her news would probably upset the already upset girl, "They're messages. From your husband, Leonard McCoy and Spock" She waited for a reaction. But the girl just stared at her blankly, her eyes shiny green marbles. 


	5. Lord Knows

Home Sweet Home The following story line is mine. Don't try to copy it cause I'll get mad  
In a like vein, Star Trek: Voyager and all characters are the sole property of someone other than me.  
  
"Deneb?" Janeway repeated. The girl shook herself.  
"Oh. Yes. Well. I suppose we should see them then" she said, but she didn't look happy about the prospect.  
"You don't have to watch them now, if you don't want to" Janeway told her, "They'll be there and you can see them anytime you want" Deneb was staring past her. She suddenly got up and spun around, once again looking out the window.  
"You know" she started. There was emotion in her voice, even if Janeway couldn't decide what it was, "I used to think that at least the stars didn't change, you know? I mean, no matter how far in time I hopped, at least the stars were the same. Oh, they looked different, you know, depending on where we were. But someone could always pick out Earth's sun. They could say, look, that star is part of Orion's belt, even though it doesn't look like it from this angle, or over there, that's Polaris. And even though I was hopping through time, I could at least feel like I was still in the same place, relatively speaking. But here?" she shook her head, "I'm farther from home than I've ever been. And I get the feeling I'll never get back, not now. I've come too far this time"  
Janeway knew that losing hope was the worst thing that could happen to a person. She strove, every day, to keep the hope that they'd get home alive on the ship, no matter what obstacles got in their way, no matter how long it was going to take, they'd all see home again. She knew that it was a large part of what kept this ship running, it was one of the things that kept people sane. She couldn't imagine losing that hope, not completely anyway.  
And to have had that hope, made a life for yourself, and then to have it ripped away again?  
"You can't lose hope, Deneb" she said softly, "Hope is the thing that keeps us going. Without hope the human race would have fallen apart years ago. Without hope every person on this ship would be walking around with nothing in their hearts. They might not be walking around at all"  
"And what should I hope for, Captain? To get back home? That's not going to happen. Spock taught me to be more realistic than that. What then? Hope that I won't hop again? That Fate will take pity on me and leave me to build another life? I've too much recent experience for that theory to hold much water"  
"What about your children? Don't you want to build some kind of life for them?" she asked, trying to find something that would stimulate Deneb. The girl turned on her heels to face the Captain, a woman slightly taller than herself, but no matter when one is enraged.  
"Oh, yes wouldn't that be perfect?" she nearly shouted, "Yes, I build a life with them and then what? I get snatched away by Lord knows what and they've lost their mother at what, two? Three maybe? Wouldn't that be a grand experience for them? Or, maybe they'll go with me, something passed through my genes perhaps? Yes, and then they get the wonderful feeling of being snatched away from everything they know and love and get thrust into a world they know nothing about, where their mother can't protect them and they're vulnerable to all the terrors that I've encountered over the years!"  
"What're you going to do then?" Janeway asked impatiently, raising her voice a bit now too "Sit around this room and mope?" Deneb's anger drained away.  
"You sound like my mother" she said. In that instant, Janeway realized what the young woman really needed. A mother. She'd been only sixteen when she was torn away from hers? And Janeway knew, somehow, that not too much time had passed between then and now. Deneb had gone through a life time of experiences in a short amount of time, with no one to confide in, no one to console her, no one to council her through the things that every young woman needed a mother's gentle hand for. Who had she asked questions of when she'd fallen in love with James Kirk? Who had she borrowed pearls from for her wedding? Who had given her advice when she'd found she was pregnant? Janeway doubted anyone had done that.  
Janeway had never been a mother, she'd never even been married. But she tended to think of herself as mother of this entire crew and besides that, every woman had motherly intuitions. And this time her intuitions were telling her that right now, Deneb needed to come to grips with her reality, and a soft hand wasn't what was called for.  
"Deneb Darling-Kirk" she implemented the age old 'full name' trick, "Get a hold of yourself. I can't imagine anyone in your life, from your mother to your husband to Ambassador Spock or Admiral McCoy would approve of your recent behavior" She was surprised at how motherly she did sound!  
"Life hasn't dealt you the best hand, but it's what you've got and you've got to play with it. There is more to consider than getting your heart broken again. Your children, for one, and the fact that you could be here for a year or longer. You'll go mad trying to keep yourself locked up and cut off from everyone else. Now, I suggest that you start thinking of something you can do to occupy your time, and I don't care what it is" And with that and not a backward glance Katharine stomped off for the door, leaving Deneb speechless behind. She stopped at the door, suddenly remembering.  
"When you're ready to see those messages, call me." she added and then let the doors close behind her.  
It was two weeks before she got that call. 


	6. From Jim, With Love

Home Sweet Home The following story line is mine. Don't try to copy it cause I'll get mad  
In a like vein, Star Trek: Voyager and all characters are the sole property of someone other than me.  
  
During those two weeks, almost no one saw hide nor hair of their newest addition. Tom Paris had apparently made a point of going to visit once in a while, but he was the only person that Deneb would speak to. She obediantly went down to Sickbay so the Doctor could go over her again, but she didn't speak the whole time she was there. She refused to answer any of Katharine's calls or invitations, and nobody else was even trying.  
So Katharine was surprised when she showed up on the Bridge. She had at least gotten herself a new wardrobe, something more up to date. She had forgone the one piece many women prefered, probably due to her rounding belly, and had gone with an attactive outfit composed of "jeans" and a plain blue "pocket-t." Her issued com badge was securely fastened above her left breast.  
"Deneb" Katharine greeted her with a nod of her head.  
"Captain" she nodded back, "Could I...see you?" She hesitated, as if she wasn't sure she wanted what she'd come for.  
"Of course" Katharine said, "Chakotay, you have the Bridge. This way" Katharine led her off the Bridge and to her enlongated couch.  
"You were right" Deneb started, "I could just hear Bones telling me to buck up, and Spock telling me how illogical it was for me to wallow in my 'human' emotions when it didn't get anything done. And Jim...." She closed her eyes, "And Jim would have told me to be strong for the kids" Katharine didn't say anything. She was going to let Deneb find her own way.  
  
"And I have a strong suspicion that those messages waiting for me will tell me just that" She started to get up to go to the computer terminal but Katharine held her back. Deneb gave her a confused look and dropped back down on the couch.  
"Deneb, did you get the chance to look up any history on Cap...on Jim?" she asked. The woman would have no idea what had happened to her husband.  
"No" she answered slowly, "I thought about it, but...I couldn't. I didn't want to read his obituary" Ah, so she had thought of the fact that he would be dead by now.  
"Last I heard, Ambassador Spock was working on Romulus, undercover. Admiral McCoy is retired, on Earth" Deneb nodded. They moved to the terminal and Katharine let her sit in front of it.  
"Computer, call up the three messages left for Deneb Darling-Kirk"  
"Vocal confirmation from Deneb Darling-Kirk is required to open the files" the computer informed them.  
"Computer, this is Deneb Darling-Kirk. Open the files"  
"Acknowledged" Three names appeared on the screen.  
"Who do you want to start with?" Katharine asked.  
"Spock" Deneb answered immediately. A picture of Ambassador Spock, seated, with some kind of plant behind him, appeared.  
"That's the Enterprise" Katharine noted. Deneb looked up at her.  
"The Enterprise-D" Katharine clarified, "Under Captain Jean-Luc Picard" Deneb nodded and went back to looking at the image.  
"He looks so old" she commented softly, "Computer, start playback"  
"Deneb. If you are viewing this, then you have hopped again to a Starfleet facility. I hope that they are treating you properly. I must admit that I was...surprised...to see you aboard the Enterprise D. I have forwarded the information to Admiral McCoy." Spock paused, searching for words, "Jim...missed you after you were gone. Things aboard the Enterprise did not return to their previous conditions. Your presence was greatly missed by all, notably by Scotty who often made reference to you until Jim told him to stop." Another pause, "Deneb, I expect you are still pregnant with Jim's children. I hope that the hopping did not hurt the children in any way. I would suggest that you seek out a Vulcan and continue you're meditive postures. I must also encourage you to continue the work you began on the Enterprise. You make an excellent morale officer" Katharine saw her smile. "Live long, and prosper, my friend"  
"You do Vulcan meditive postures?" Katharine asked lightly. Deneb nodded.  
"Well. I suspect that Tuvok would be willing to work with you" She didn't mention whatever work she had begun on the Enterprise.  
"Bones" Deneb said softly, and the image of the old Vulcan was replaced by a picture of an even older Admiral McCoy.  
"Bones?" There was shock in her voice. Her hand was drawn to the screen and she tried to caress the deep wrinkles of the friend she had last seen in his prime.  
"Oh, Bones, what happened?" Katharine did not bother to point out the obvious.  
"Computer, playback" she ordered.  
"Well, Neb, where'd you end up?" the old Admiral began, "I got a call from that green-blooded, pointed eared Vulcan saying you popped up on the Enterprise-D. Called it a pit stop. I was on that ship, she's a beauty. Jim would've been jealous" He paused, perhaps realizing he'd just told her that her husband was dead, "Jim.had a good career. Got a little crazy in the middle. You should look it up. Good story to tell the twins about their Dad. Jim added them to his family Bible, you know. You better stick with Damia and Damian now, girly. I'm sorry I won't be there to deliver them, heal all the cuts and bruises and broken bones they're likely to get. And you know they will, between you and Jim" The man kind of chuckled to himself, and Deneb saw that mischievous glint in his blue eyes that hadn't aged a bit. But then it faded a bit and she knew the lecture was about to begin. "Well, girly, what're you going to do now? Don't you go getting all stuffy, like you did here at first. Jim wouldn't give up and I don't expect you to. You're going to need help with those two hellions Damia and Damian are going to be. You keep on with your plays and music. We missed you, girl, but we lived and so will you. You make the best of what you've got" Now he smiled, "I'm proud of you Neb" And then his message was over.  
"So short" Deneb sighed, "I could always listen to Bones forever."  
"He gave many talks and lectures" Katharine told her, "You could access them"  
"It's not the same thing" Deneb sighed, "A lecture would have none of his particular brand of humor, none of his witty banter, sly Spock cuts, his defiant, irrespective wisdom"  
"He was a great friend" Katharine didn't have to ask. It was obvious.  
"He was a great friend" Deneb repeated, "My greatest friend"  
"There's only one more" Katharine reminded her gently. Deneb shook her head.  
"I can't" she said, "I can't see him.old." Katharine looked at the stardate attached to the file containing James Kirk's name.  
"I don't think you'll have to" she said and pointed. Deneb gave her a bashful look.  
"I never did get the hang of stardates" she admitted.  
"Computer, run playback" Katharine ordered. She could feel Deneb tense up beside her, but then an image of a very young, rather attractive, James T. Kirk appeared on the screen. He was wearing a sort of half smile that made a tear come to Deneb's eye. She had always thought his suave half- smile was one of his most endearing traits.  
"My beautiful wife," he started, "If you're watching this than you're on a Federation ship, somewhere, and that eases my heart. At least I know you and the kids are in good hands. I added them to the family Bible, you know. They're the only 'D's in there. Make sure you tell them that I love them, and I always will. Don't let them grow up thinking or feeling like they have no father, because I'm here. I've left additional messages for them. You can download them onto a chip, and then keep them on you so, when they're old enough, you can show them. I know they'll turn out just as fabulous as you are, my sweet, sweet Deneb." He paused. Was he choking back tears? Katharine couldn't tell, he was still smiling, but Deneb could. How hard had it been for him to record this message, in the hope that she would someday see it? That it would survive however many years his wife had hopped through? How strong was hope?  
"Deneb.I'm finding it hard to do the everyday things I used to do without you now. I can't believe I ever managed without you. But I'll manage again. We're strong people, Deneb, we manage through it all. You're probably feeling just as wretched as I am right now, and I can't blame you. I'll miss you terribly, all the days of the rest of my life. But I'll go on. There's more to the universe then just you and I, Deneb. I told the kids this too. Kirk blood runs in their veins and I know you'll help them to live up to it." And here he stopped for just a second, switching tracks, "Deneb, my love. My wife. I'm circling your star now. It's got a planet circling that kind of reminds me of you. All green and rusty red" Now he stared straight out of the screen, as if he were looking right into her eyes, "I love you Deneb Darling Kirk. I love you with all that I am" And then the picture stilled and it was over. 


	7. The Spirit of the Advice

Home Sweet Home The following story line is mine. Don't try to copy it cause I'll get mad  
In a like vein, Star Trek: Voyager and all characters are the sole property of someone other than me.  
  
Deneb took the advice she was given, to a point. She took up her writing again, involving the crew as much as possible. Her dramatic pool had been reduced, but she never the less managed to organize entire casts and crews. She was sure to consult and "conspire" with Neelix, so as not to bruise his ego. He was, after all, the ship's morale officer. The crew appreciated all of the efforts she made and she received friendly greetings everywhere she went.  
Still, she somehow managed to avoid making any real friends. When she was not working, she was unavailable to almost everyone. (The Doctor seemed to be able to get a hold of her wherever she was) Katharine often stopped by her quarters in the evenings, usually to find the girl was not home. She was starting to become seriously concerned. She wondered if the girl could have become mentally or emotionally unstable after all of that time traveling. Tom Paris was the closest thing to a friend the girl had that Katharine had observed.  
"I know she spends a lot of time in the holideck, Captain" Tom told her when she went to ask if he could help.  
"The holideck?" Katharine repeated.  
"She's fascinated with it" Tom said.  
"Yes, I imagine she would be" Katharine mused, "Able to create and interact with fantasy worlds. The question is, what kind of fantasy is she creating?"  
"I don't know" Tom admitted, "She locks herself in"  
"That can't be healthy" Katharine sighed, "I'll go speak to her" For a change, Deneb was in her quarters.  
"How are you?" Katharine asked as the doors slid closed behind her. Deneb turned around and rolled her eyes.  
"I'm eight months pregnant, how're you?" she asked sarcastically. And the girl did indeed look eight months pregnant. Her belly button was almost a foot from it's original position and her face had taken on the rounded look that many pregnant women gained. She'd also become irritable and impatient, plus she tired easily.  
"Do you want something?" she asked, going to the replicator, "Coke?" Katharine scanned the room. Dozens of empty "Coke" cups were sitting about the room.  
"Ah, no, thank you" she replied and took a seat, "What've you been up to" she asked as casually as she could. Deneb joined her with her Coke.  
"Same old, same old" she answered.  
"Tom tells me you've been spending a lot of time in the holideck" Katharine jumped the gun.  
"Mmm. Funny thing about history is that it's so much more interesting to watch then to read" Deneb answered absently. Katharine was suddenly relieved.  
"Is that what you've been doing in there?" she asked, "Catching up on your history?" Deneb suddenly looked up suspiciously.  
"Why?" she asked slowly, "What did you think I was doing?"  
"Some people have been known to...lose themselves in the holidecks" Katharine admitted.  
"Oh you mean..uh...what was his name? The hypochondriac? Barclay! Reginald Barclay" she nodded to herself, gulping down the last of her Coke, "Don't worry Katharine. I haven't recreated my life aboard the Enterprise and lost myself in it"  
"How do you know about Barclay?" Katharine asked, a little surprised.  
"The logs are all in the computer" Deneb replied, "I just taught the holideck to turn them into TV"  
"TV?" Katharine repeated.  
"Television. A primitive form of entertainment. Don't worry, I don't expect you to have any idea" Deneb rolled her eyes and went back to the replicator.  
"Another Coke, and a Taco Bell Seven layer burrito, and mashed potatoes, creamy ones with garlic, and a big bowl of peas, Deneb style" The request appeared and Deneb carried it to the table.  
"Do you want anything, Katharine?" she asked, already shoveling some of the food into her mouth. Katharine wasn't quite sure when the young mother-to-be had given up calling her "Captain" in favor of Katharine. It had been shortly after viewing her messages.  
"No, thank you" she answered with a smile. She was aware of the odd eating habits pregnant women kept. She felt she should be happy that Deneb had never eaten food from, say a Klingon table, or any dinner guests the girl might have would most likely loose their own appetites fairly quickly.  
  
"Mmm. Do me a favor and get me some lo mien?" Deneb lifted a brow hopefully. Katharine let her lips twist up just a bit as she rose to comply. She brushed past a shelf and felt something fall. She turned and saw a picture frame laying face down. She bent and picked it up, but she was surprised at the picture she found in it.  
"Where did you get this?" she asked. Deneb looked up from her food, which was nearly half gone already.  
"Mm. Harry printed it for me" she answered. Katharine replaced the image of James Kirk where it belonged. She had never noticed it before, oddly enough.  
"I've another in my room" Deneb said. She dropped her fork and waddled away to collect it. She brought it back and handed it to Katharine.  
  
"See. This is the two of us after a play I did, 'You Can't Take It With You'. It's a reception in the arboretum" she explained, a warm look on her face. Katharine studied the happy couple. Deneb looked even younger, if that was possible. Perhaps it was just the exuberant happiness that made her face glow when she wore such a huge grin. Kirk, an arm around her waist, was smiling slightly too. Katharine noted that he was handsome, though not her type. He was blonde and well built, with smile lines creasing his eyes. He looked like someone who could've made Deneb very happy.  
"This was only a month after we were married, just before we found out I was pregnant" Deneb commented and returned to her meal, "Harry said he could print me out some other ones too. I wanted one of Bones"  
"I'm surprised these were still in our archives" Katharine admitted, putting the second photo down.  
"Mm. So was Harry. That's Spock's doing" Deneb paused, "For being a Vulcan, he was awfully considerate" Katharine smiled.  
"I find that's true of Mr. Tuvok, as well" she said, "Speaking of Vulcans, have you asked Tuvok to continue you're meditive postures?" Deneb stuck a particularly large bit of potatoes in her mouth and tried to avoid the Captain's look.  
"Deneb?" Katharine was feeling like a mother again. Deneb looked up, a look of total aristocracy on her face.  
"No I haven't. Spock mentioned that once my pregnancy had progressed so far I'd be physically unable to accomplish most of the postures" she answered haughtily, "Therefore, I didn't see any point in asking until I am able to do them again"  
"You didn't see any point, or you just didn't want to?" Katharine asked, "Tuvok told me there are a set of specific postures for pregnant women" Deneb shrugged.  
"Well then Spock didn't know them"  
"Tuvok says most men don't. But he happens to. He learned them with his wife while she was pregnant with their children" Deneb jerked her gaze away from her food, the last of which was halfway to her mouth.  
"Tuvok has children?" she asked, sounding astounded.  
"Two" Katharine answered, "But you're trying to change the subject. Deneb, you can't seclude yourself from the rest of the crew. It's not healthy"  
"I'm not secluding myself from the crew" Deneb argued, washing her food down with her Coke, "I'm doing what Bones and Jim and even Spock told me to do. I'm doing the newspaper, I'm directing plays, just like I've always done"  
"Yes. But you're holding yourself back" Katharine pointed out, "You're not allowing yourself to move past that amiable acquaintance stage"  
  
" I am not" Deneb said stubbornly, jutting her bottom lip out in a gesture suspiciously close to a pout.  
"Yes, you are" Katharine said firmly, "And you need to make some friends. It is unhealthy for a person to be so isolated" Deneb frowned.  
"Who's the shrink on board?"  
"Shrink?" Katharine repeated, confused.  
"The psychologist, councilor, whatever. Cause that sounds an awful lot like something a shrink would say" Deneb replied.  
"We don't have a councilor on board" Katharine told her, although, come to think of it, she wished they did. The crew seemed to have hammered out routes of stress relief, but there were occasions when Katharine could have used a good Betazoid aboard.  
"Well then I don't think you should go throwing such phrases about, Captain" Deneb was joking now in her odd dry sense of humor, "You never know when you might turn into a shrink" She smiled at her own humor and put all of her dirty dishes into the dispenser. Katharine knew it would be no good to try to talk to her now.  
"And that's another thing" she said, looking at the dirty dishes, " You never eat down in the mess hall. Neelix is beginning to think you don't like his cooking" She said it with a straight face, but Deneb burst out laughing none the less. 


	8. Two Weeks Late

Home Sweet Home The following story line is mine. Don't try to copy it cause I'll get mad  
In a like vein, Star Trek: Voyager and all characters are the sole property of someone other than me.  
  
"Induce labor?" Deneb repeated.  
"It's a very standard procedure" the Doctor said. Kes gave him a withering look.  
"You're a week over due" she said gently, "Which is fine, but it might be easier for you if we induce labor now. Otherwise the birthing process could be more difficult that it should be"  
"You want to put drugs in me" Deneb said. Both the Doctor and Kes had more than once nearly lost their patience with the girl's "archaic" way of thinking about medicine.  
"I don't know why you're so opposed to medicine" the Doctor whined, "You're best friend was a doctor, or so you're always telling me" It was true that Deneb did go on about Bones a bit much in the Doctor's presence.  
"He's a doctor, not a meddler! Bones always said you only resort to medicine when nature can't heal herself" she said stubbornly, getting off the bio bed.  
"Look, I'll take my chances with nature. You said you can pump me full of drugs so it won't hurt, so what's the difference?"  
"I thought you said you didn't like the idea of drugs being 'pumped' into you" the Doctor pointed out.  
"Look, women have been using drugs to reduce the pain of labor since my mother was born. Tests have proven there's less stress on the child as well as the mother when she's not in agony. And Bones said the drugs wouldn't get into my children's system once labor began so I'm not so opposed to those particular drugs" she recited the speech as if she knew this argument would be coming up.  
"The drugs to induce labor won't harm the child either" Kes tried.  
"Nope. Forget it" Deneb said and waddled for the door.  
  
Later...  
  
"Hello, Mother" Deneb greeted Katharine scathingly as she swallowed whatever flavor ice cream she was eating her third time around. She had given the Captain the nickname after their last "serious" conversation.  
"Stop mothering me" she had insisted.  
"You need a bit of mothering" Katharine had retorted. She didn't use it always, but especially on occasions when she was in a foul mood. Katharine had found the girl to be much more available in her last month of pregnancy than she had in the previous four, mostly because Deneb lacked the energy to hike herself down to the holideck. It had become a tradition for Katharine to stop, at least for a few minutes, in the evening to see how the day had gone and sometimes to share dinner. She felt it was the steady guiding hand the stubborn girl...woman (Katharine tried to think of her as such) needed.  
"Good evening, Deneb" Katharine replied, ignoring the fire and ice in the greeting, "I see you've already eaten"  
"I was too hungry to wait" Deneb had become blunt in her disgruntled state.  
"Hmm. How was your trip to Sickbay?" Katharine asked, though she had already had a report from both the Doctor and Kes, who were both distraught over the situation. Kes because she was worried about Deneb, the Doctor because he had been insulted by her. Again.  
"I am thoroughly sick and tired of being pregnant" Deneb snorted, "But I will not subject my body nor the bodies of my unborn children to who knows what kind of unnatural liquid the Doc wants to put in my veins"  
"Yes. Kes said you were being uncooperative in that regard" Katharine said. She, however, remembered the last time the Doctor had tried to force Deneb to do something. He wanted a blood sample and Deneb was clearly terrified.  
"I don't use the old antiquated way of needles you know" he had tried to tell her, "So there's nothing to have a phobia about"  
"Ha! Shows what you know! Don't you know anything about shaping? Classical conditioning? You're not getting any blood out of me, you vampire! What is it about Doctors? Always trying to take my blood? You take enough of it and there won't be any left!"  
"Shows what you know" the Doctor had retorted, "The body is constantly producing more blood, so you won't miss it. Besides, I don't even need so much that the body would need to replace it immediately" That didn't reassure her any. She continued to call him a "Holographic Vampire Doctor" and tried to leave. He locked the doors. She screamed and threw a tray of hyposprays at him, which of course did nothing. He tried to sedate her. She had extremely strong will power over her body, no doubt due to her time hopping experiences. She hadn't gone out and he had been forced to open the doors when she'd called to the Captain.  
He was therefore not going to try to force her into inducing labor. Neither was Katharine. She dropped the subject and moved on to ones she knew held steadier ground, such as the recent edition of the newspaper, which contained two poems by Mr. Tuvok and an old tribal story by Chakotay.  
  
"I like Chakotay's stuff" Deneb commented, "It's always infused with a deep pride in his culture. And it's always written so well. I'll bet he's a good story teller" Katharine raised an eyebrow in surprise. This was the first Deneb had made any sort of in depth comment about any of the crew. Though she sometimes spoke of Tom, she mainly framed those comments in the bounds of how he reminded her of her younger brother, David.  
"Ooo, ooo! They're kicking!" she said. Katharine was always amazed at how excited Deneb got when the twins kicked, usually in unison. (Which the Doctor had diagnosed as "odd")  
"You know, the sooner you get out of there, the sooner you can start kicking more interesting things around" Deneb told her children, "Like the Doc's head" Katharine smiled.  
  
10 days later...  
  
B'Elanna saw the woman coming. She wasn't sure she particularly liked the girl who had suddenly appeared on the ship about five months ago. In B'Elanna's opinion, she was acting like a pouting child. She had it rough, but so did every other person aboard this ship. She wasn't the only one who had been torn from her home and deposited in the middle of somewhere she knew nothing about. Tom told her she didn't know what she was talking about. That if she spent half an hour in the woman's presence, speaking with her, she'd know that she wasn't sulking, she was just being careful. B'Elanna thought she was hiding from the world.  
However, right now, she didn't like she was hiding from anything. Actually, she was acting a bit odd. She was walking very slowly and was using one arm to lean against the wall, while the other was across her enlarged stomach. Her head was down and she appeared to be breathing heavily.  
"Deneb? Are you all right?" B'Elanna asked as she got closer. Deneb's head lifted and she smiled painfully.  
"Oh, B'Elanna! Yes, I'm fine. Would you mind helping me to the holideck?" She sounded pleasant enough, but on this ship, and before on the Marquis ship, B'Elanna had become aware of the human signs of pain.  
"The holideck?" B'Elanna repeated, "You're in labor, aren't you?"  
"Yes" Deneb answered cautiously, "But I don't think I'm quite ready to go to Sickbay yet" she said, "It's not progressed quite that far"  
"You can barely walk" B'Elanna observed, taking the other woman's hand and starting to walk with her.  
"Humph. I want to go the holideck" she said again, more firmly.  
"You're not going to the holideck" B'Elanna said, "You're going to Sickbay" And she began leading the woman there.  
"I don't want to go to the..ah!" Deneb sucked in a deep breath and a look of shock froze on her face. Her hand suddenly tightened around B'Elanna's and the half Klingon woman was amazed at how much it hurt. Deneb must be much stronger than her appearance portrayed, which was all well and good in B'Elanna's book. She appreciated strong women. It was one of the reasons she worked so well with the Captain.  
"OH! That hurts" Deneb loosened her grip around B'Elanna's crushed hand.  
"Come on. Sickbay!" B'Elanna ordered and this time Deneb did not argue. Whether or not this was because she had changed or mind or because she simply couldn't argue anymore was beyond the point.  
She had three more contractions on the way. B'Elanna made a note to have Kes take a look at her hand later. She was going to need it tomorrow at work and it wouldn't be much good in it's current condition. (In her opinion, that was the only reason to ever seek the aid of a doctor)  
"Doctor! Kes!" she shouted as they entered, "Deneb's gone into labor!" The Doctor of course appeared immediately in front of them. Kes and Commander Chakotay followed a second later from around the corner.  
"Ah. I see we've begun" the Doctor observed calmly, "This way" And he turned and walked away. 


	9. Dr Lenard McCoy

Home Sweet Home The following story line is mine. Don't try to copy it cause I'll get mad  
In a like vein, Star Trek: Voyager and all characters are the sole property of someone other than me.  
  
Upon seeing that Deneb would not be able to make it on her own, Chakotay swiftly gathered her up and carried her to the bio bed. (Easier thought of then done. She was considerably heavier than she had been five months ago)  
"What is going on here?" the Doctor suddenly exclaimed, "These contractions are too close together! When did you go into labor?"  
"Oh shut up!" Deneb yelled back at him, "Unless you're going to say something to take away the damn pain!"  
"I'm afraid it is too late for that" the Doctor replied, "The first child is already cresting" Deneb suddenly let out a very high pitched shriek. B'Elanna was surprised the glass in the room didn't shatter.  
"Kes, get ready" The Doctor ordered as he positioned himself to catch the child. Suddenly, however, Deneb kicked him.  
"Get away from me you holographic vampire doctor!" she shouted loudly, and angrily, "I don't want you!"  
"Well I'm afraid you have no choice" the Doctor responded evenly. He was apparently programmed to deal with overly emotional women in labor.  
"Like hell I don't! BONES!" Deneb shouted.  
"What the hell is going on here?" a strange male voice suddenly asked. Everybody who could turned around to see a middle aged man in an old fashioned blue uniform standing behind them. Only the Doctor and Chakotay recognized him as who he was. Or, rather, who he was supposed to be.  
"Who are you?" B'Elanna demanded.  
"Dr. Leonard McCoy, who're you?" he asked noisily and pushed past her to Deneb's side, "Why didn't you call for me earlier?" He demanded of her. She just growled.  
"Huh. Waited too long to come down here did you? Had to get help, that's why they brought you here instead of to my Sickbay. Well, it's your own fault now, Deneb Kirk. Now you're children will have an audience at their birth" He turned around and stared at the other holographic Doctor.  
"Well, don't just stand there, man! You're a doctor, not an idiot, help out a bit!" And then McCoy shoved the Doctor aside and took up his position.  
"Deneb, you've got to push. One of 'em's comin out already" he said, "Someone get her some water" Chakotay complied.  
"Better be Damian or Jim'll have a fit" McCoy was muttering to himself.  
"Here Deneb. Now, just relax a little. Everything's going to be all right" Chakotay told her soothingly, "Now, just push" Deneb took the glass of water from him and dumped it over his head. Then she screamed. Chakotay backed up, standing next to the door where the Doctor was looking annoyed at having been pushed out of the way.  
An infant's cry shot through the air.  
"Well, he's got Jim's lungs on him" McCoy commented as Deneb collapsed back into the bio bed. Kes came and took the squalling infant to clean him up while McCoy delivered the second child.  
"There now, only one more to go" Chakotay said from his, supposedly, safe spot. Deneb chucked the water glass at him. He ducked, barely, and it shattered against the door.  
"MEN! You're all pigs! Only one more to go! I'd like to see you lay in bed while your abdomen muscles push a 7 pound human being through your pelvis!" she shouted at him with another painful scream as another contraction hit.  
"Deneb Kirk, don't throw things on a ship!" McCoy straightened up for a second so his patient could see the frown on his face, "You're liable to break something" It seemed then that he noticed B'Elanna.  
"Make yourself useful woman, go hold her hand" he ordered her. B'Elanna felt strangely compelled to follow out his orders immediately, as if he were a domineering old grandfather or something. She gave Deneb her unhurt hand, making another mental note to see Kes immediately after all the drama had faded.  
"All right, now, Neb, here comes the other one" McCoy warned just before another contraction hit. Deneb screamed and squeezed B'Elanna's hand (who was truly beginning to be amazed at how strong the woman really was) and then there was a third scream joining that of the mother and first born.  
"A healthy baby girl" McCoy declared. Kes came and deposited the boy in his hands while taking the girl to be cleaned a bit. Deneb was breathing hard, unable to speak. Her hair had matted to her wet forehead and she was two shades paler than usual.  
"Perhaps we should let the patient rest for a while before giving her the child" the Doctor piped up when McCoy made a move for Deneb.  
"Bones, you bring that child to me this instant" Deneb managed between her wheezing.  
"I've learned to never say no to a Kirk" McCoy told the Doctor and handed over the new born. Deneb was half sitting and she looked down at the child you had finally quieted at the sight of his mother. She smiled tenderly at him, but B'Elanna noted there were no tears in her eyes. She had heard that human women get all teary after giving birth, a sentimentality that B'Elanna found useless. Her opinion of Deneb went up another notch.  
"Hello, young Damian" the new mother whispered and she looked up at her holographic friend, "He kind of looks like Jim, don't you think?"  
"Mmm. Poor kid" McCoy agreed.  
"Deneb" Kes said gently. She was holding the girl. McCoy took the boy while Deneb took the girl.  
"And this is Damia" she said, "She looks more like me, I think"  
"Then she got all the luck" McCoy smiled. Deneb smiled back.  
"I'm glad you got to keep your promise, Bones"  
"So am I. Who knows what this blundering idiot might've done?" He jerked his head towards the other doctor, who got all flustered but didn't say anything. Nobody was paying attention to him, however. What is it about a new mother that captures all attention? 


	10. Infants

Home Sweet Home The following story line is mine. Don't try to copy it cause I'll get mad  
In a like vein, Star Trek: Voyager and all characters are the sole property of someone other than me.  
  
AN: This is where it starts to get screwy. Remember this story spans years, so to save it from being 400,000 chapters long, we skip around a lot. And there might be two "stories" in one chapter, depending on how long they get. I'll try to "bring you up to date" in AN's like this one.  
This is a short jump. The twins are about four or five months old.  
  
The door opened and an exasperated Deneb appeared in the opening. The loud protests of two infants could plainly be heard behind her and Chakotay was sure her neighbors were glad the bulkheads were sound proof.  
Deneb looked as if she'd either just gotten out of bed, unlikely at this hour, or had been wrestling with a bear. She was wearing her standard jeans and t-shirt, but they were wrinkled and dotted with wet spots, probably from milk. Her face was flushed, although there were dark circles under her eyes, and her hair had once been pulled back in a pony tail, but was now falling about her shoulders. In short, she looked like a train wreck.  
"The Captain asked me to deliver this" he told her, holding out the padd with a long list of various supplies. Deneb took it, glanced at it and tossed it on a table.  
"Thanks" she said and prepared to turn away.  
"Do you...want some help?" Chakotay suddenly asked. She'd been aboard for almost a year, well, ten months or so, but he didn't consider himself more than an acquaintance. Still, he'd heard from the Captain that the young woman had been having problems with her two "bundles of joy". Janeway had taken on the role of the woman's surrogate mother and therefore spent quite a bit of time, when she could, trying to help out with the kids. He had thought of some tricks he remembered being used to calm restless children, but he hadn't been sure how to approach the tired young mother. She was still wary of making friends.  
"I don't know what you can do" she said, but she gestured for him to come in, "But you're welcome to try anything you want" Chakotay took a look around. The quarters were in shambles. Clothes, dirty dishes and toys were strewn across the room. There were two piles of dishes near the dispenser and it looked as if she'd been trying to tidy up, but kept getting distracted. Both Damia and Damian were lying in their playpens, crying their lungs out. Deneb rolled her eyes and went to pick her daughter up.  
"I don't know what's wrong with her" she nearly cried, "She won't eat, she won't sleep, she just cries all the time! And he cries whenever she cries, if he doesn't have food in his mouth"  
"Have you taken her to see the Doctor?" Chakotay asked.  
"Oh him!" Deneb rolled her eyes again, "He says there's nothing wrong with her, she's just cranky" She looked around at her dirty apartments and sighed dramatically. Chakotay got the hint.  
"Here, I'll take her" he reached for the child, "Why don't you feed Damian. Maybe he'll go to sleep" She looked hesitant for a moment but then complied. Chakotay was careful to support the wailing infant's head as he arranged her in his arms. Despite the fact that she was crying loudly, he suddenly felt a rush of paternal feelings for the baby girl. He wondered for a moment if it was simply the feel of a child in his arms, which happened to feel very nice. He immediately began to rock gently back and forth and to hum to her. He saw from the corner of his eye as Deneb gathered Damian and took a seat on the couch. He knew she was breast feeding the twins, and for a second he wondered if she would have compunctions about feeding the child in his presence. He needn't have worried. She pulled a soft, thin blanket over her shoulder and the child's head as he began to feed.  
Only a few minutes later Deneb was getting up to deposit him in his crib, which was situated near her bed. The two cribs had been a gift from the entire crew. On their last supply stop, some men had cut down a couple of trees and then Chakotay, Tuvok, Harry and Tom had spent three weeks turning the fine wood into small cribs which fit nicely against the bed, with low openings so the mother could reach her children from a sleeping position.  
"I think she's getting tired" Chakotay commented when Deneb had returned. Damia had quieted a bit, though she was still crying.  
"Why don't you try to feed her? Maybe she'll follow her brother's good example" he suggested. Deneb looked like she was about to drop from exhaustion but she took her daughter and retreated to the couch. Miraculously enough, the infant decided she was more hungry than angry now and fell silent as she fed. Chakotay took a look around the room and began cleaning up. He put the dishes in the dispenser, he gathered the dirty clothes and put those in the proper receptacle, and finally gathered all the infant's toys into the playpens. By the time he was done, Damia had fallen asleep.  
"Here. I'll take her" he said softly and gathered the, finally, sleeping infant from her mother's exhausted arms. He tread carefully to the next room and deposited her silently in her crib. He sighed in relief when she didn't wake up and returned to the living room area. Deneb had fallen asleep on the couch. Chakotay smiled tenderly and gathered her into his arms. She felt lighter than she should have. Of course, the last time he had held her she had been nine and two weeks pregnant.  
Her arms slithered up and around his neck as she rested her head against his chest. He could smell whatever shampoo she used and he thought he liked it. He carried her to the bed and laid her down gently. He tried to straighten up again. She wouldn't let go of his neck. He tried prying her fingers off but she was having none of it. He sighed and glanced at the clock. It was still early in the evening. He could afford to let her sleep for a couple of hours. Besides, this way he'd be there in case one of the twins woke up, and he could let her sleep even more. So he carefully pushed her over and laid himself out next to her on the bed. She snuggled into him, probably looking for warmth Chakotay told himself, and sighed happily. 


	11. Racket Ball

Home Sweet Home The following story line is mine. Don't try to copy it cause I'll get mad  
In a like vein, Star Trek: Voyager and all characters are the sole property of someone other than me.  
  
AN: About 6 months later...so the kids are about one.  
  
"It's a racket, B'Elanna, not a bat"  
"What?"  
"Backhand, not backhands" Deneb explained, sort of, and removed B'Elanna's left hand from the handle of her racket.  
"Only use one arm" she demonstrated. B'Elanna growled.  
"I've been playing racket ball since I was five and I swear I've never taught a more stubborn student!" Deneb exclaimed. They were in the holideck. She had conjured up a suitably old fashioned racket ball court to play in. It had become her "without the kids" pastime. With everyone having their place on the ship, there wasn't anyone extra to watch after the children on the ship. So that had become Deneb's job. She took them to all of her rehearsals and she took them on trips to the holideck and she made sure the older ones, of which there were only two, did their school work. She, however, did need some time off once in a while, so she had found a couple of people she trusted to watch her 'darling' children while she did some exercise. Katharine, of course, Chakotay, Kes and Tuvok were her babysitters. The first time she had left her children with Tuvok she had been slightly concerned. How well would an "emotionless" man take care of two human children? Still, Katharine had reminded her that Tuvok had children of his own and so she had followed through. Damia and Damian seemed to accept him as a babysitter and so their mother had also. Kes had actually asked if she might watch the children sometime. Deneb was informed that Kes would live only nine years and would not have any children. Deneb had taken pity and allowed the young woman to help out once in a while, and then whenever no one else was available, which happened rather often. Chakotay had simply fallen into the role after the first night, when she had fallen asleep in his arms after a particularly difficult day. He had come back the next night and cleaned her house for her, and then stayed around while she slept to take care of the kids. He and Katharine had taken turns until the twin's sleeping habits had settled down to something resembling normal. Deneb had found, despite herself, that she had made friends. One night she had been contemplating this, berating herself for being so careless, when Tom and Harry had shown up at her door with a deck of cards in their hand. She had smiled mischievously and decided to give up the fight. She knew it would hurt when it ended, but meanwhile she could make some memories to hold close in some dark and cold future.  
Of the command crew, only B'Elanna was still held at a distance. She never performed in any of the plays or musical events Deneb arranged, and she was not a logical babysitter. They're association, therefore, had not grown for there was nothing for it to grow on. Tuvok was tutoring her in her meditive postures again, as well as babysitting, Katharine was firmly entrenched as the mother figure, the children responded best to Chakotay and he provided stimulating conversation for a knowledge starved Deneb and Tom and Harry worked very well as younger brothers to "play" with.  
Today, however, Deneb had found herself in need of a racket ball partner. Harry and Tom were running some kind of tests, and Katharine, Chakotay and Tuvok were going over some new security procedures Tuvok had come up with. That had left only B'Elanna and Deneb had given her a "call". The bristly woman had agreed to play a game or two and they had met in the holideck.  
"You call this exercise?" B'Elanna retorted to Deneb's prod, "I won't even break a sweat!" Deneb smiled, almost devilishly.  
"Just try to keep up with me" she told the other woman and hit the ball.  
Two hours later, they walked out of the holideck. B'Elanna was drenched in sweat. The back of her shirt was stuck to her skin and she reeked of an odd half human half Klingon body odor. She was breathing hard and wiping more sweat from her flushed face with a towel. She had finally ended up pulling her hair out of her face and tying it up as Deneb had done.  
Deneb was slightly flushed.  
"Still think it's a bad way to work out?" she asked with a chuckle.  
"Remind me to show you my calisthenics program some day" B'Elanna replied. Deneb laughed.  
"Go get cleaned up then come down to my quarters. I have the perfect after-racket-ball meal" B'Elanna nodded and headed off to take a cold shower. Deneb hurried back to her own quarters. Chakotay was supposed to have taken over from Kes after his meeting.  
"Hey, how're they?" she asked quietly upon entering. She didn't hear any screaming.  
"They're sleeping"  
"You're kidding!" Deneb exclaimed, even quieter this time, throwing her equipment on the couch.  
"Ko, I don't know how you do it!" she continued, getting some water from the replicator, "You know you're the only one they'll nap for. They didn't take to anyone else so quickly" Deneb remembered that it had taken a couple of tries for them to accept both Katharine and Kes when their mother was away.  
"Ko?" Chakotay repeated, completely ignoring the rest of her comment. She looked up at him, startled out of her thoughts.  
"Oh. Do you mind? It's a nickname, it just kind of slipped out. It probably will again, unless you don't like it. Do you know you're the only one with a name that doesn't roll off of your tongue? Compare, Harry and Chakotay. Katharine and Chakotay. Neelix and Chakotay. Tuvok and Chakotay. I mean, really" She was rambling. He had noticed that she did that when she was comfortable. She subjected her friends to a running inner monologue.  
"I suppose I don't care" he answered carefully, still not really sure if he did or not, "I've never had a nickname before" Deneb acknowledged this with a nod and headed for the bathroom.  
"Do you want to stay for lunch?" she asked, "B'Elanna's coming over"  
"B'Elanna?" Chakotay asked, surprised. He turned toward the replicator, pretending to study the panel. He couldn't actually see Deneb undressing, but the sound of the shower reminded him that she was. She didn't reply immediately, not wanting to wake the kids, but she was a quick showerer and was fully dressed and toweling her hair off eight minutes later when she told them about her trip to the holideck with B'Elanna.  
"You've made yourself another friend" he told her, helping her put all the food on the table. She scrunched up her nose.  
"I know. I decided to give up trying to fight it" she answered, "It's too much work and Damia and Damian take up too much energy" Chakotay smiled.  
"Good" he said, just as the door chimed to let them know B'Elanna had arrived.  
"Hey! Shhh! The kids are actually sleeping, thanks to Chakotay" Deneb greeted her. B'Elanna looked suspiciously at the food laid out.  
"What is this?" she asked.  
"Carbs!" Deneb replied happily, taking a seat, "There's spaghetti and fettuccini alfredo, bread and garlic mashed potatoes. But you're half Klingon, so I suppose you need to replenish some proteins too, so there's steak too" B'Elanna gave Chakotay a look. Chakotay shrugged. They had all thought the woman's strange eating habits had been due to her pregnancy. They'd been proven wrong.  
"I'm starved" he said and sat down. B'Elanna sat, and reached for the steak. 


	12. Da'y

Home Sweet Home The following story line is mine. Don't try to copy it cause I'll get mad  
In a like vein, Star Trek: Voyager and all characters are the sole property of someone other than me.  
  
AN: Here the kids are about a year and a half. Sorry there's not much in between story. If anyone wants to know more, let me know in a review and I'll add chapters where needed!  
This is one of those chapters with multiple stories. They're separated by = signs.  
  
"Ko, Ko, look!" Deneb shouted. Chakotay dropped the new outfit he'd been hunting for to replace the one Damian had just mussed up and ran out into the living room. Deneb was crouched on the floor, a look of utter joy on her face, her arms extended toward a small figure moving unsteadily across the floor. It was Damian. He had a look of great concentration on his face as he carefully shifted his weight from one foot to the other as they moved in front of each other.  
"Come on, Damian, come on! Come to Mommy!" Damian complied, though it took him another moment. Deneb curled him up into his lap and, realizing from his mother's expression that he had done something good, he grinned up at her and laughed with his amazingly full laugh.  
"Congratulations, little man" Chakotay smiled down at the boy too and crouched down by his mother. A small outraged cry brought their attention to the fact that Damia was now standing as well. Now that she had their attention she began her own trek across the floor to the two adults and her brother. She made it a bit more quickly than her brother had and landed in Chakotay's lap.  
"You know what this means, don't you?" Chakotay asked of the twin's mother. She looked at him confused. Then it dawned on her.  
"Oh dear" she said, "And I thought they were trouble just crawling"  
"They'll be double walking" Chakotay told her, "I have a feeling they've just learned to walk in their parent's footsteps"  
  
= = = = = = = = = = = =  
  
Damia chattered cheerfully at her mother. Deneb had no idea what the child was trying to say. Her daughter had said her first recognizable word three weeks ago, which had been "Ma-y" (She wasn't quite ready to produce all syllables) She had said it when her eyes had lit upon her mother as Deneb walked into the living room from the bedroom, and had continued to use it in conjunction with her mother ever since. Damian had not been happy to be shown up by his sister and had tried mightily to get his mouth to conform to his will. He finally succeeded a week later and said "no." Deneb had smiled but called Katharine immediately.  
"He's already being obstinate! What am I going to do?" she cried.  
"Get used to it" Katharine answered with a chuckle.  
Now, both Damia and Damian carried on long conversations, with each other, with their mother, with the plant, with the photo of their father or anything or anyone else who seemed to be listening. Deneb had made the mistake of sitting down to feed the child, who tended to prefer to throw her food than eat it when she controlled the spoon.  
"Really? Well isn't that nice, honey" the tired mother said and tried to get another bite of mashed peas into her daughters mouth. The door chimed.  
"Come in!" she called. Chakotay walked in with Tuvok. It was time for her meditive postures. Damia twisted in her chair, causing her brother beside her to turn in his too.  
"Da-y!" she exclaimed with a happy look on her face.  
"Da-y!" Damian confirmed with his own smile. Deneb looked shocked. Chakotay glanced back at Tuvok. He couldn't be positive that they had meant him. He looked at Deneb, she simply stared back at him. He knew she wanted her children to know who their real father was, and to be proud of him. Was she going to be upset that they had given him the title instead of her beloved husband?  
He thought he should test his assumption before saying anything to her about it. He left Tuvok standing at the door and walked toward the twin's high chairs, coming around to stand by their mother who absently handed him their food. They both turned back around in their high chairs, keeping their eyes on him. Damia lifted her arms out to him.  
"Da-y!" she said again, looking directly at him. Damian copied her. (The two of them were already competitive) Chakotay gave Deneb a remorseful look. She stood up and grabbed her towel and water bottle.  
"I'll...uh...be...back.....later" she said and pushed past Tuvok into the hallway. The Vulcan raised a brow at Chakotay and followed her.  
"You are upset that your children regard Chakotay as their father" he said calmly when she looked like she was having difficulty concentrating. She straightened out of her position.  
"Not...upset, exactly" she said, "I mean, I guess I should have seen it coming. He is the male figure they're most familiar with. I guess I'm just...surprised"  
"Do you object to Damia and Damian regarding him as their father?" Tuvok asked, trying to make her really think about it herself. He had no emotions himself, but he realized that humans often need to confront and think about theirs before they could handle them properly.  
"I....I guess not. I mean, they're going to need a father figure eventually, won't they? And Lord knows that some old photographs and stories about Jim aren't going to do the trick" She was trying to sort through her thoughts. She was being logical, but Tuvok was aware that the logic wasn't going to make any difference in her heart.  
"I guess I was just shocked. I mean...I guess I hadn't completely stopped dreaming about them knowing their father. Christmas's in Iowa. That was what Jim and I used to talk about. Taking our kids home for Christmas's in Iowa" She shook her head, "But, I suppose if they were going to pick a father figure, I can't have any faults with the one they chose. Chakotay will be perfect for the role" And she refused to say anything else about it to Tuvok, although he suspected that she still had reservations about this new factor in the pattern of her life.  
Later, when she got home, Chakotay tried to apologize.  
"Oh, Ko, it's not your fault" she dismissed his words with a flip of her hand, "They were going to pick someone eventually. I'm glad it was you" She smiled lightly and put a kiss on his cheek. He stood shocked for just a second outside of her quarters after the doors had swished shut. 


	13. Q

Home Sweet Home The following story line is mine. Don't try to copy it cause I'll get mad  
In a like vein, Star Trek: Voyager and all characters are the sole property of someone other than me.  
  
AN: Around the same time  
  
"Thank you, Ko, dear" Deneb took the coke from him.  
"You really should think about cutting back on those, Deneb" Katharine commented. They were all sitting in Deneb's front room, waiting for Kes to show up. The Captain and her first officer had finally convinced their friend to attend one of the social functions she was planning all of the time. Deneb planned, set up and cleaned up after her "parties" but she rarely attended. She didn't generally attend any of the tournaments or concerts she organized either. Katharine had the strong feeling that she wouldn't go to the plays either, if she didn't have to be there because she was the director. She preferred to stay in her quarters, listening to music, painting and trying to keep tabs on her twins, who were walking now, though unsteadily. They were talking too and they were currently involved in a conversation with each other. The three adults were considering them with raised eyebrows. They heard the occasional word (Ma-y, Da-y, ball, food, etc) but they didn't seem to have any logical pattern. Still, the twins seemed to be understanding each other perfectly.  
"Sorry!" Kes exclaimed as she walked in the door, "Ensign Montrose showed up with a sprained wrist"  
"He okay?" Deneb asked. Kes nodded.  
"All right, well I won't be long, okay?" she smiled and started for the door.  
"Deneb?" Katharine stopped her. Deneb turned around.  
"Shoes?" Katharine nodded at the woman's bare feet. She hated shoes and only wore them when she had to.  
"Oh, yeah" Deneb headed for the bedroom and they could hear her foraging for an appropriate pair of shoes. Katharine, Chakotay and Kes all shared a smile. And then a bright light filled the room.  
"Hello, all!" a familiar voice said.  
"Q! What're you doing here?" Katharine asked, but without the anger that she knew Captain Picard harbored toward the mischievous nearly omnipotent being. Q was a trial sometimes, but he usually fixed whatever he broke.  
"Someone told me there was someone interesting here" Q answered.  
"Someone?" Chakotay repeated. Q ignored him.  
"What's this?" he exclaimed and picked Damia up.  
"It's a child" Katharine told him in a withering tone. Q frowned at her.  
"I know that. Who's child?"  
"Mine" Everyone turned to see Deneb standing with hands on her hips. (And shoes on her feet)  
"Who're you?" Q asked.  
"You know for being nearly omnipotent you don't know very much do you?" Deneb retorted. Q looked insulted. Well, not really. He was pretending to be.  
"Oh how you scathe me. Fine. You're a time hopper by name of Deneb Darling-Kirk" he told her. Katharine got the distinct feeling that he wanted to stick his tongue out at her.  
"Q, you don't have anything to do with her hopping, do you?" the Captain asked cautiously. She never knew when she actually wanted Q's answers.  
"Me? Of course not!" Q exclaimed in mock shock, "It's not my department" he added.  
"Look, you, I don't care if you are a quasi-god" Deneb said threateningly, "If you don't put my daughter down I'm going to feed you a knuckle sandwich"  
"Are you threatening me with physical violence?" Q roared, "Oh, Someone was right! You are interesting!" He gently lowered Damia back into her play pen and then gave Deneb a very dashing bow.  
"Until another time, my dear" he said and vanished in a bright light. Deneb frowned and went to check on her daughter's health.  
"Q. I'm sorry about him, Deneb" Katharine said.  
"We should have warned you before" Chakotay added. Deneb flicked those sentiments away.  
"Don't be sorry. I like him" she said.  
"You do?" Kes, Chakotay and Katharine all asked at once. Deneb shrugged.  
"He reminds me of Bones. I bet those two would've like each other"  
  
///Sometime in the past.....  
  
"Who the hell are you?"  
  
"Who?"  
"You!"  
"Me? I'm Q"  
"Q? What the hell kind of name is that?"  
  
"Mine, of course"  
"Is that supposed to mean something to me?"  
"Hardly. The human race isn't advanced enough to be trifled with yet"  
  
"Trifled? What kind of joke is this?"  
"The size of your puny existence is no joke"  
"Puny existence? Look, I'm a doctor, not some mote on some backwater world"  
"You might as well be"  
"I ought to give you a knuckle sandwich!"  
"That's what she said"  
"Who said?"  
"Deneb of course"  
"You know Deneb?"  
"She said I would like you"  
"Well she didn't say I'd like you. Get out of my quarters!"  
"With pleasure" /////  
  
Q's bright light filled the room again.  
"You're right. I do like him!" he said and disappeared again. 


	14. Something's Wrong

Home Sweet Home The following story line is mine. Don't try to copy it cause I'll get mad  
In a like vein, Star Trek: Voyager and all characters are the sole property of someone other than me.  
  
AN: This is when the kids are about two and a half. In the past year, nothing much has changed except that Deneb has opened up to the crew a little bit more. For background, recently people (command crew) have been noticing that Deneb doesn't seem to be herself. They keep bugging her about it and she's irritated.  
  
"Mind if I join you?" Chakotay asked. Deneb caught the ball before it could pound into his head.  
"It's a free country" she said, then winced, "Ship. Whatever. Computer, another racket for the Commander!" she ordered. She was wearing tight shorts that clung to her skin mid-thigh and what she had labeled a "sports bra". The ensemble revealed a lot of skin and well toned flesh. Chakotay yanked his thoughts away from that path. Her long chestnut-red hair was pulled up in a high pony tail and the ends curled with dampness. She tossed the ball into the air and hit towards the wall. It smacked and headed back. Chakotay danced to his left and swatted it back.  
"How's the chess tournament going?" he asked pleasantly.  
"Not bad. I hear it's down to you and Tuvok" she answered.  
"Should you be telling me that? Isn't that advanced knowledge Tuvok doesn't have?" He was joking.  
"Tuvok's a Vulcan, Ko. I seriously doubt he doesn't realize that he's playing you tomorrow" she answered irritably. She was in no mood to joke around, apparently. Chakotay concentrated on the game, trying to think of some way to bring up what he wanted to talk about. She didn't speak, just hit the ball back and forth. Not with her usual vigor, Chakotay noticed. She was breathing hard and not moving at her usual pace. Sweat was already dripping down her back and matting the rebellious wisps of her hair to her forehead and neck. She ran foreword to catch the ball but missed it. It bounced itself still on the floor. She raised a hand to her temples and closed her eyes. Chakotay wasn't sure how long she'd been playing before he'd got there, but he didn't think it had been long. He had stopped at her quarters and found Kes and Neelix trying to catch Damian, who had stolen both of their communicators. He and Damia were tossing them back and forth, enjoying their little game. They had become hellions since they turned two. They were stubborn and obtrusive, they said "no" to everything and refused to do anything anyone told them to do. When they didn't get their way they threw fits. Deneb called it the "Terrible Twos"  
"Don't worry" she told Katharine one day, "The day they turn three they'll calm down again"  
"I wouldn't bet on it" Bones, her preferred holographic doctor, said. They had taken Damian to Sickbay because he'd banged his head on the edge of a table. Deneb had looked slightly worried at his comment.  
Chakotay wasn't so worried about the children. They wouldn't kill themselves, not with three aunts, four uncles, a mother and two holographic doctors looking after them. He was, however, worried about their mother. She seemed so tired lately, and it wasn't like the exhausted person she'd been right after she'd had them. This was slower and she was trying hard to hide it.  
"Headache?" he asked. She was prone to them. At least, much more so than the rest of them.  
"It's nothing" she said and dropped her hand. She picked the ball up and got ready to bat at it again.  
"It's not nothing, Deneb" he stopped her, "Look at you! You've been playing forty-five minutes and you're exhausted. Something's wrong"  
"I'm a little tired, that's all" she answered defiantly, "I'm not sick or anything"  
"Deneb, I've been your friend for almost three years. I can tell when you're not feeling well and when you're sick. And you're sick"  
"Come off it, Ko. You're just as bad as Katharine, trying to mother me. There's nothing wrong" And with that, her eyes rolled back into her head and she fainted into his arms. Chakotay hefted her up quickly and carried her to Sickbay.  
"Bones!" he called.  
"What's going on here?" the Doctor asked, coming out of his office.  
"Oh, it's her" he said scathingly. The Doctor and Deneb didn't get along very well. The holograph of Dr. McCoy appeared.  
"Well. I see I'm not needed here" the Doctor said and returned to whatever he had been doing earlier.  
"Bones, she just collapsed in the racket ball court" Chakotay told him, ignoring his own Doctor. The holographic Bones picked up a tricorder and did an examination. Then he did some other tests that Chakotay couldn't identify. Suddenly, he jerked his head up.  
"Hey! Doctor!" he called. The Doctor came.  
"What do you want?" he asked, sounding annoyed at having been bothered.  
"I want a second opinion" the McCoy holograph answered and shoved his data at the other doctor who read over it carefully.  
"That's odd" the Doctor commented.  
"What is it?" Chakotay could feel every muscle in his body tightening up. He felt dread and fear rushing through his veins like ice.  
"She has cancer" the Doctor told him.  
  
Later...  
  
"What do you mean I have cancer?" Deneb shouted, "How the hell can I have cancer? What kind of cancer?"  
"Leukemia, to be exact. I had to go back in the medical histories to actually find the cause and cure" the Doctor explained to her.  
"But it's curable, right, Doctor?" Katharine asked.  
"Of course it is" McCoy answered, "We aren't in the dark ages you know"  
"So this is curable? Wait...what kind of cure?" Deneb narrowed her eyes at the Doctor.  
"We don't use the poisons your people used to try cure it" he told her, "So don't worry about me pumping your body full of chemicals"  
"There's a simple surgery and then a round of treatments" Kes told her.  
"Surgery? Oh, no! You're not cutting me open!" Deneb cried again.  
"Don't be ridiculous, Deneb!" her friend scolded, "You're so paranoid"  
"I don't want you cutting my body open like....like...like some Roswell freak!" Deneb said stubbornly.  
"Oh, for heaven's sake!" Katharine cried, "Doctor, when can you do it?"  
"Whenever she's ready" the Doctor replied.  
"She's ready" both Chakotay and Katharine said at the same time.  
"What? No I'm not! Hey, let go of me!" They were both holding her down so she couldn't run away before one of the doctor's put her to sleep.  
"No fair! This is against my will, I'll have you know! Bones, you traitor!" she cried as he gave her the hypospray and she melted away into sleep. 


	15. Prom

Home Sweet Home The following story line is mine. Don't try to copy it cause I'll get mad  
In a like vein, Star Trek: Voyager and all characters are the sole property of someone other than me.  
  
AN: This is about 6 months later. Deneb made it through the surgery just fine, but had to take time to recuperate after the treatments because it had been pretty advanced.  
  
Katharine tossed the ball back to Damian who chased after it diligently.  
"Aunt Kathy, I got it!" he exclaimed with a little dance. He promptly fell on his behind, but it didn't perturb him. The twins had just celebrated their third birthday: a messy affair with balloons and chocolate cake which had ended up all over the furniture, their clothes and their faces. They had each received small gifts from the assorted "aunts" and "uncles" they had gathered to themselves. Katharine had given them coloring books and crayons, Tom had given them a set of small soft balls, Harry had replicated small, kid safe keyboards for them. Kes and Neelix had given them stuffed...bear things. (Damia promptly named hers Neelix and Damian promptly named his Kes) Tuvok had produced a puzzle for each of them. B'Elanna had had trouble thinking of something to get them. She wasn't sure what was appropriate for children. At the Captain's suggestion, she picked out two sippy cups with their names painted on. (She made sure to get them the exact same color of green, so they wouldn't have anything to fight about) Chakotay had presented them with disks of children's songs. (They had finally given up calling him "Da-y" when they got a better grip on their vocabulary. While Chakotay knew it was more appropriate, he couldn't help but feeling that he'd lost something)  
These things had all been treasured for a few days before being tossed to side for more interesting things. What these thing were, nobody was sure, as nobody else could see them. But Damia and Damian were perfectly happy to play without any props at all, or what makeshift props they could come up with. Deneb was still doing daycare duty during the day and so they had other children to play with.  
Tonight was one of the dance/parties that Deneb had arranged for the crew. In the past three years many young couples had met at these functions. Deneb never went. Katharine had stopped by to try and persuade the young woman to go but had ended up playing with Damian while Deneb gave Damia a bath instead. She tossed the ball for the little boy again, who spun around and chased it. Katharine tried hard not to think of her dog.  
Deneb came out carrying Damia who was already dressed for bed. Deneb had a brush and Damia knew it. She was struggling to get away.  
"Damia, the more you struggle the more it hurts!" Deneb cried, trying to get the little girl to sit still on the couch. Katharine had become used to how much like her mother Damia looked. She had the same chestnut-red hair, although hers had little highlights of blonde in it, and her mother's green eyes. She had a strong jaw that would be attractive when she'd lost her baby fat and a nicely shaped nose that sat above two finely shaped lips. She was going to be stunning in about fifteen years or so.  
Damian on the other hand looked more like his father. He was blonde, to be certain and had brown eyes, with little green flecks close to the iris. When she compared him with the pictures she'd seen of James Kirk there could be no doubt of whose son he was.  
In temperament, however, the twins were exactly the same. Stubborn and controlling, they argued about everything. Katharine had the feeling that they were going to grow up to be great friends. If they lived through this phase.  
The door chimed.  
"Come in!" Deneb called, finally releasing her daughter with combed hair. Chakotay came in, wearing a very nice off hours outfit in black and red. Katharine had known he was coming, she'd told him to, but Deneb looked surprised.  
"Hey, Chakotay" she said cheerfully, "Are you going to the party?"  
"I was thinking about it" he answered carefully, "If you'll go with me"  
"Oh, Ko, I don't think so. I've got to give Damian a bath still" Deneb answered.  
"I can give him a bath" Katharine said, "Why don't you go?"  
"You can't give him a bath all by yourself" Deneb argued, "Who'd watch Damia?"  
"Deneb, you've been stuffed up in these quarters ever since you got out of sickbay" Katharine told her, "You haven't even kept your appointments with Tuvok. Now, you need to get out! Go on, I'll be fine!" Deneb still looked hesitant.  
"Come on Deneb" Chakotay urged, "I'm not going by myself"  
"Oh all right! Give me a few minutes" She disappeared into her bedroom. Chakotay gave Katharine a look. She rolled her eyes in agreement.  
Fifteen minutes later Deneb emerged. Chakotay caught his breath. Elegant was the only word he could find, but it wasn't quite perfect enough. The dress she'd chosen, a hunter green affair with purple moons spiraling from her right shoulder to her left leg, was clinging to her perfect curves and revealed her lithe legs. It also made her seem just a tad taller, especially with the little strappy heels she was wearing. She had curled a few chunks of hair and it flowed down across her shoulders and down her back and arms to her elbows. He hadn't realized it had gotten so long. She'd added a bit of lipstick and eye color to make the look complete. He had no idea why she had the dress, but he was glad she did. He was going to be the envy of every man on the ship after tonight.  
"You look beautiful dear" Katharine said, with both twins on her lap.  
"Yeah, sure, whatever" Deneb replied flippantly. That was one of the most beautiful things about Deneb, was that she didn't know that she really was beautiful. She didn't bother with what other people thought of her, at least on the outside. As long as they didn't think she was selfish and arrogant she was happy.  
"Well, shall we go?" Chakotay held his elbow out for her. She rolled her eyes but smiled.  
"I'll see you two later, okay? Be good for Aunt Kathy!" she warned her children, who had taken a second to recognize her, as she walked out of the house.  
Chakotay had been right. She turned heads as soon as she walked into what had been turned into a dance hall. It was actually a specific holideck program Deneb had designed for these dance/parties. The lighting was dim, lit only by a candle chandelier and candle centerpieces on the two and four seater tables that were dispersed across the room. A holographic band was playing on a slightly raised stage and a buffet line was set against one wall. The decorations had an underwater theme.  
"Well. Would you like some punch?" Chakotay asked, feeling extremely cliché. She caught on and laughed.  
"As a matter of fact, I would" she answered and they made their way to the buffet table. He got drinks for both of them and they found a table.  
  
"This is really nice, Deneb" he told her.  
"Mm. Everybody seems to be enjoying themselves, anyway" she agreed. She waved to a couple she knew who were dancing on the floor. Chakotay got an idea.  
"Would you like to dance?"  
"Me? Dance?" she asked, sounding surprised.  
"You do know how, don't you?" he asked. Perhaps she didn't.  
"Well, Jim and I never had a reception for our wedding and I kind of missed my prom by, oh, about two hundred years" she replied, "They kind of stop admitting people after a hundred and fifty, apparently" Chakotay didn't know what a prom was, but he got the joke and he laughed. She laughed with him.  
"Come on, I'll teach you" he said, taking her by the hand and leading her onto the floor, "It's not hard"  
"Obviously not, if you can do it" Deneb answered, but she laughed. He liked her laugh. She didn't do it enough in his opinion. She was lovely when she was smiling and laughing and actually relaxed enough to have a good time. He drew her close and tried to teach her to dance. She kept stepping on his toes but she doubled over in laughter every time she did it so he didn't care much that he probably wouldn't be able to walk tomorrow. He made cracks about how clumsy she was and she told him what a bad teacher he was. Chakotay found himself laughing with her. Eventually they retreated to a table where they began discussing everything from the twins to his childhood to how the transporters worked. (She had been there for the original design, which were not the safest way to travel, and was therefore wary of them)  
By the time she got to staring quietly out at the stars Chakotay had realized something that was slightly terrifying for him. He was in love with her.  
"Good lord!" she suddenly exclaimed, looking at the clock positioned over the buffet table, "It's after midnight! Katharine's going to have a caniption!" She stood quickly, but didn't look like she was in any hurry to get home. They walked at a fair pace back to her quarters where she grimaced before opening the door. The lights were low, but she could see the place was in tatters.  
"Katharine?" she called softly. A figure on the couch stirred.  
"Computer, increase lighting slightly" she ordered. The lights rose and they heard the Captain grown as she sat up. Her hair had fallen out of it's immaculate bun and she looked a bit rumpled, but wide awake.  
"Hey. Sorry. I didn't realize how late it was" Katharine raised an eyebrow.  
"It's all right. I couldn't get them down until about ten thirty" she reported, "But Damian got his bath"  
"Thanks" Deneb smiled sweetly.  
"You go on home, Captain" Chakotay said, "I'll stay and help pick up a little. You look exhausted" Katharine nodded and headed for the door.  
"Watching those two isn't exactly what I'd call a relaxing night" She gave him a curious look as she passed but he didn't make any response.  
"Good night!" she called as the doors closed on her. Deneb let out a little laugh.  
"Oh, look at this place!" she picked up both stuffed bear-things, the children's left over dinners and one of her shirts.  
"Sometimes I think I'm raising chimpanzees in a zoo and not children on a starship!" Chakotay laughed but kept it soft. Nobody wanted to wake the kids up. He helped pick up the puzzle pieces and balls and put them all away into their boxes. She gave him a little smile and shake of her head as she walked him towards the door.  
"Ko, I actually had a great time tonight" she admitted with another smile, "Hard to believe, I know, but there it is. There's something about you that always makes me feel good"  
"I'm glad" he answered. She was very close. There was suddenly a tension between them. Her soft smile changed slightly. She could feel it too. Chakotay was sucking up the warmth that was emanating from her body. She glanced down, her eyelashes brushing against her cheek, and then looked back up at him. The soft light was reflecting in her green eyes and off of her perfectly shaped lips. Lips that probably tasted just as good as she smelled....  
Before he really knew what he was doing he was lowering his head and kissing her. He didn't know what he expected. Maybe that she'd slap him. At the least pull back. But he did not expect her to lean into him, to kiss him back with a tender power that seemed to have been bottled up in her, just waiting for release. She moved her hands up to splay across his chest and he wrapped his fingers in her long, silky soft hair, drawing her head even closer to his. A barely audible moan escaped her throat, urging Chakotay to go deeper, to push his soul into hers. His hands slipped down her back and around her waist, now pulling her entire body into his.  
He didn't know exactly how long he kissed her, but it felt like a blissful eternity. He almost cried when she did finally pull away, her chest raising up and down with the short little breaths she was taking. She looked at him for a long second, still clutched close to him, and then smiled. Just a little smile, just barely a lift of her lips. She raised a hand to his face and caressed his cheek.  
"Night, Ko" she said softly. He didn't want to say good night.  
"Night" he replied with a soft caress of his lips on hers and then tore out of her arms and into the hallway before he said anything to screw it up. 


	16. Tuvok's Council

Home Sweet Home The following story line is mine. Don't try to copy it cause I'll get mad  
In a like vein, Star Trek: Voyager and all characters are the sole property of someone other than me.  
  
AN: A year later. So the kids are almost four. By this time Deneb has become a sort of Guinan on Voyager. People go to talk to her about their problems, but she's not an official councilor. You'll get the rest from the chapter.  
  
Their relationship grew as life went on around them. Deneb completely shed her reservations about becoming part of the life aboard Voyager and was much happier for it. Chakotay spent every evening he could in her quarters, giving the kids baths and helping her with designs for her plays. She in turn tried to help with his responsibilities, but it usually just came down to giving him massages and cups of tea. But he didn't care that she was unable to assist him with his work. He didn't want her to anyway. He liked helping her with her daily chores. He liked helping her raise her children. He liked feeling like a husband and a father.  
He consider these feelings carefully for a while. Had he truly reached that point in his life where he was ready to settle down, have a family? He didn't feel old, but the truth was he was over four decades old. In other words, he wasn't getting any younger. Helping to raise children, especially Deneb's children, would require vigor. There was no doubt that he loved her. He even loved the children. Was this enough to make it work, however? What about when they got back to the Alpha quadrant? Would he be charged for his Marquis work? If not, what would happen to him? Would he be able to support a family?  
These were logical questions that he did not have logical answers to. He knew of someone who might though. He was not sure he wished to devolve his intentions to anyone, but he knew that he could trust his friend's complete confidence.  
"No one can have the answers to these questions" Tuvok said simply. Chakotay frowned.  
"Thank you Tuvok, you're a big help" he said. Tuvok picked up on his sarcasm.  
"The fact that you have considered these questions would indicate to me that you are ready to make your union permanent" Tuvok added. Chakotay sighed.  
"Thanks Tuvok" he said. But he was still not sure after this encounter. He felt he might somehow be doing her a disservice by endangering her future with his. He decided to talk to one more person.  
"Father"  
"Chakotay! Come and sit" his father beckoned him to the fire.  
"What is troubling your soul my son?"  
"I want to ask a woman to marry me" Chakotay said and then paused, giving his father time to speak. He didn't.  
"But I'm worried about our future. I don't know what will happen when we reach our home again. There, I am still considered a criminal. I don't want to leave her alone"  
"Your concerns are worthy of you, but do not be so worried about the future" his father finally responded, "You can not predict the future. Taking a woman as your wife is a serious commitment, but it is a commitment worth making" Chakotay nearly smiled. Two weeks later, which just happened to be the anniversary of Deneb's appearance on Voyager, Chakotay arranged to take her out on a romantic dinner. She had a romantic streak in her that craved candle lit dinners and dances in moonlight.  
He was going to lead her onto a terrace overlooking the moonlit Pacific Ocean. Ivy and philodendra was going to creep across the railing and over the ceiling, and there were going to be soft instrumentals of her favorite songs playing in the background. The table was set with an off white table cloth and gold and ivory china, lit by floating candles. It wasn't exactly Chakotay's style. He'd gotten some help from Katharine. It would hopefully pay off.  
"Hey. Ready to go?" he asked at her front door. She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Not what he had expected.  
"Oh, Chakotay, I'm sorry! Damian has some kind of.Rykellian flu or something like that" she frowned, "Oh, this sucks. I really wanted to go with you too"  
"It's all right" he told her, "I'll stay here and help you take care of Damian" She gave him a loving smile and a kiss.  
"You're great, Ko" Then she sighed, "Not exactly the most romantic anniversary ever" He laughed.  
"Kotay!" Damia cried when she saw him walk in and ran into him. He lifted her off the floor so she could wrap her little arms around his neck and give him a kiss.  
"Hi, sweetie" She reminded him so much of her mother it was almost scary. She had the same facial expressions, the same hand movements, sometimes even the same tones. He gave her a soft hug.  
"Will you play with me, Kotay?" she asked. The kids were too young still to use his full name. He didn't care. It was another affectionate nickname that he'd become used to.  
"Maybe. I'm supposed to be helping with Damian" he told her truthfully.  
"He doesn't feel good. Bones said he got the flu" she told him seriously, as if it were a grave matter, as long as Bones said it.  
"Yes, I know" Chakotay told her and set her back down on the ground, "Why don't I go see how he is, and then maybe we'll play, okay?" Damia nodded happily and went to find a doll she was fond of.  
"Damian? Chakotay's here" Deneb told her son, who was half asleep on the couch. He immediately tried to sit up. Damian, contrary to Damia, was almost nothing like his mother. Katharine was quick to point out that he was, actually, much more like Chakotay, although he was blonde.  
"Kotay?" he asked. He looked a bit pale and perhaps a little feverish. He was curled under a soft blanket with colorful dinosaurs printed across it.  
"Your mother says your not feeling well" Chakotay said.  
"I'm cold" Damian answered, "And my tummy hurts"  
"Well Bones gave you medicine. You should feel better by the morning" his mother told him, "Do you want some Coke?" Chakotay raised a brow at her.  
"Well, flat it's called coke syrup and it's great for settling a stomach" she told him arrogantly, "Believe me, I've used it enough times myself to know" Just then Damia appeared with her doll.  
"Are we going to play?" she asked, reaching for Chakotay's hand.  
"I don't want to play" Damian protested.  
"I have an idea" Chakotay said, "Why don't we all have some popcorn and watch a movie together?" Popcorn was a treat the children were always happy to have.  
"Damian can't have popcorn" his mother informed them, however, "How about toast instead?" Damia was happy to get anything to eat after dinner (another characteristic in common with her mother) so she happily agreed and settled on Chakotay's right while Damian put his pillow on the visitor's lap and laid on his side to see the screen. Deneb brought their toast and settled on the other side of Damia.  
"What're we watching?" she asked.  
"Finding Nemo!" Damia yelled excitedly.  
"Damian?"  
"Yeah!"  
"Finding Nemo it is" Chakotay said and settled in to watch the movie he'd probably seen at least a hundred times now. It was an ancient, to Chakotay, movie about these fish. But it was a great family video and it was entertaining enough.  
By the time the credits were rolling, the two four year olds had been asleep for at least half an hour. The two adults worked carefully to transfer them to their beds without waking them, and then returned to the front room.  
"Hey! Did you ever even have any dinner?" Deneb suddenly asked.  
"No" Chakotay answered, realizing that he hadn't.  
"Well, sit down boy. I may have ruined all your romantic aspirations, but I can at least feed you" She laughed at her own joke and ordered his favorite dishes from the replicator. She sat down with a bowl of pineapple, her favorite, to keep him company while he ate.  
"So, what were we going to do tonight?" she asked, knowing he would tell her in that great story teller voice of his that she loved so much.  
"We were going to have dinner on a terrace above the ocean" he told her, "There was a big full moon and soft music and candles. We were going to have grilled chicken in a white cheese sauce, tossed with garlic mushrooms, and for desert half a pineapple topped with half frozen strawberries. And then we were going to dance and you were going to fall madly in love with me" She smiled dreamily at him.  
"Sounds perfect" she sighed, "We could still dance, couldn't we?"  
"Of course. Computer, music from holographic program Chakotay-Beta- six" He stood up and bowed over her hand before she rose and joined him. He drew her close into himself, one hand around her waist and the other entwined with her hand. She rested her head on his chest and the top of her hair tickled his chin. He sighed contentedly. She felt so good in his arms.  
"Marry me" It just came out, in a soft whisper, but without his thinking about it. She pushed away from him and he found himself looking at her narrowed gaze.  
"What?"  
"Deneb, I want you to be my wife" He looked into her eyes. He could see her fear.  
"Oh, Chakotay.I don't.I don't think." She took a step back as she shook her head.  
"I know it's frightening. Don't think I'm not a little frightened too"  
"It's not that, it's just."  
"Look" He took her hands. He had to make her listen.  
"I'm not going to pretend that I believe you'll never hop again. You still could. In fact, Tuvok would suggest that since you've been here so long already, chances are you'll hop sooner than later. But we could be happy as long as you're here, however long it is, whether it's just another month or whether it's the rest of your life" She looked dubious still so he pulled her closer, looked down into her eyes.  
"I want to be your husband. I want to be a father to Damia and Damian, and I want to be the father of more of your children. I want to come home and see you putting dinner on the table, or giving the kids a bath or watering your plants. I want to be there for you and I want you to be there for me" She sighed and looked down at her feet. Had he made the hugest mistake of his life?  
"Do you love me?" he asked.  
"Of course I do" she said as if it were the stupidest question he could've asked, "It's just that.sometimes that's not enough Chakotay. And sometimes it's too much"  
"Deneb."  
"Just.give me some time to think about this, okay? I.I can't rush into anything. Not again"  
"I know" he said softly. He kissed her forehead, "I know" He repeated and then left. She stood looking after him, hands on her temples, wondering what she was about to get herself into now. 


	17. An Answer

Home Sweet Home The following story line is mine. Don't try to copy it cause I'll get mad  
In a like vein, Star Trek: Voyager and all characters are the sole property of someone other than me.  
  
"I need to talk to you" Katharine looked up from her work. Deneb looked distraught, which was only slightly unusual. She paced into the room and flopped on the couch. Then she got up and paced in front of it.  
"He asked me to marry him" she said. There was no need to ask who.  
"What did you say?" Deneb snorted.  
"What the hell could I say? I told him I needed time to think about it!" She stopped pacing, rolled her eyes and flopped back on the couch. She sighed and it seemed to shake her entire being. She dropped her head into her hands and rested her elbows on her knees.  
"I just don't want to rush into it again" she admitted. She closed her eyes and shook her head a little. "Jim and I only dated for about three months before we got married. I was so young. Barely 18" This was the first time she had ever mentioned her age. Katharine did some quick calculations.  
"Are you so much older now?" she asked. Deneb smiled at the floor and straightened up a bit.  
"Raising two children tends to make one age a bit" she said.  
"True." Katharine agreed, "But you're still young, aren't you?" Deneb sighed again, completely perplexed.  
"Yes. I'm still young" She was silent for a moment.  
"That's not what's bothering you though, is it?" she said. Deneb shook her head.  
"I'm what? Twenty two now? And he's at least a couple decades older than me, but...that's never quite mattered. I mean...I don't know"  
"I do" Katharine told her with a small nod to assure her.  
"Well good. At least one of us understands what's going on inside my head" Deneb said with her usual buoyancy, "But you're right it's not that. It's..."  
"You're afraid you're going to hop again" Katharine finished the sentence. Deneb nodded.  
"I mean, is that so wrong? Lately I've been wondering. It's been so long, it's almost like a dream. But in the back of my mind, in the back of my heart, I know. I know it wasn't and I know it could happen again any time. I don't know if I could go through losing another husband. And what about the kids?"  
"What about them?" Katharine realized she was being used as a sounding board for Deneb's doubts. But what were mothers for?  
"How're they going to feel when we get ripped away?"  
"And if they don't go with you?" Deneb snapped her head up and stared at Katharine. The idea was shocking in her mind. No being in the universe would be so cruel as to separate her from her children! But she knew it was possible.  
"If you marry Chakotay, they'll have a legal father here. They'll be protected, and they'll have someone to care for them. Someone who loves them and will keep you alive for them, I might add" Katharine told her.  
"And if they do come with me?" Deneb wanted to know. Katharine shrugged.  
"They'll feel pain, just as you will. But he'll be a good father to them while he can, and they'll appreciate that when they're a bit older. They'll have someone to remember and cherish in their memories. And they won't feel as if they never had a father" Deneb took all of this in and realized it was true. Katharine looked at her.  
"You're still not sure, are you?"  
"It's just...very hard to put myself in that situation again" Deneb admitted. Katharine took another tact.  
"Were you happy with Jim?"  
"Of course. Very, in fact" Deneb answered immediately.  
"And are you sorry that you loved him, sorry that you married him, now that you've faced the pain of separation?" Katharine asked.  
"No" Deneb answered, although she seemed a little surprised herself.  
"Do you love Chakotay?"  
"Yes. Very much" Deneb answered softly.  
"Love is worth all the risk, Deneb" Katharine told her just as softly. The girl looked at her. And smiled.  
  
Later.  
  
"Hey" Chakotay swallowed. Deneb was standing outside of his door, smiling hesitantly in her jeans and t-shirt.  
"Hi" he replied and moved back so she could come in. What news was he about to get? He subconsciously prepared his heart for a tragic demise.  
"I thought. And I talked. And I thought some more" she started, "The truth is I'm terrified out of my mind. I was only eighteen the first time I got married Chakotay and that all happened so fast. And I was deliriously happy for a while, until it all got taken away from me" He got the feeling he was just supposed to listen, so that's what he did. He couldn't tell where she was going with this.  
"I'm still pretty young. Twenty-two, just. And there are so many other things to think about! My kids and how they'd take it, what will happen to them if we hop, if they don't and I do. And if we don't what happens when we get back to Alpha quadrant? Will you be tried as a criminal and imprisoned? Could I handle that? But could I make it by myself in that world if you don't? And if we don't get back, what kind of life is wandering around uncharted space for children? I'm swamped with questions that I don't have answers to" She paused. She had delivered the whole speech without actually looking at him. She did that now. She stood right in front of him and looked into his eyes. He took a breath and held it.  
"But the truth is that I love you. So it's worth the risk"  
He almost didn't understand. He almost started to say "I understand" when his brain stopped him and told him that she'd just said yes, amid all those contradicting words. It took a full second for him to comprehend that.  
And then he crushed his lips down on hers. She kissed him back and he could almost taste his happiness. 


	18. David

Home Sweet Home The following story line is mine. Don't try to copy it cause I'll get mad  
In a like vein, Star Trek: Voyager and all characters are the sole property of someone other than me.  
  
The wedding was the social event of the year, to say the least. The entire crew, of course, had to be invited. Deneb had very specific ideas about her second wedding.  
"I want it done properly this time" she kept repeating. "Properly" apparently required a holideck program so elaborate Harry and B'Elanna spent nearly two weeks putting it together and rewiring the power flow to keep it up the approximately 7 hours it would require. The first thing was the church, which Deneb provided specifications on. (A spacious church with white walls and a marble altar, with high stained glass windows depicting the major miracles of Christ and a dome with the arch angles) It was to be lit by candle light and it was to be night out. She picked wisteria and lilac, with some ivy for color variation, as her flowers and these were to be dispersed widely. The reception was to be held outdoors, under a tent. There was to be grass but also a dancing platform. Deneb bugged the two with details until they were almost ready to scrap the entire project.  
Next she had to have a proper wedding dress.  
"Do you think it's right that I'm wearing white?" she asked Katharine when they were discussing it, "I mean, I have been married before"  
"Not to Chakotay" Katharine observed. Deneb had grinned and went to work describing the dress she wanted. It was nothing fantastical, but Katharine knew it would look perfect on Deneb, who had a simpler style anyway. It was an off white, with a sweetheart bodice and a Cinderella skirt. The sleeves were off the shoulder and the back laced up like a corset.  
She asked B'Elanna to be her maid of honor and Kes to be her bridesmaid. Kes, of course, accepted excitedly, but had B'Elanna frowned.  
"Do I have to wear a dress?" she asked.  
"Yes" Deneb answered.  
"I'm not good in dresses" B'Elanna warned her.  
"I'm not asking you because you're graceful in a dress" Deneb had retorted, "I'm asking because you're my friend. You'll dishonor me if you say no" She had pressed a button she knew B'Elanna would respond to. She wasn't always happy with her Klingon heritage, and she didn't follow many of their customs, but honor she did. So she agreed and Deneb designed a dress she wouldn't kill herself in.  
Katharine of course would be performing the ceremony, so Chakotay chose Tuvok as his best man and Tom as his second groomsman. They didn't have to worry about what to wear. They were wearing their uniforms. Damia was of course the flower girl and Damian the ring bearer.  
"Is Kotay going to be our Daddy?" Damia asked when she was being instructed what to do. Deneb had exchanged a look with her fiancé.  
"Yes" he told her. She and Damian exchanged a look.  
"So we're going to have two Daddies?" he asked slowly. Deneb was surprised. She hadn't thought of it, but that was a perfect way to explain it.  
"Exactly" she'd answered, "As long as that's okay with you?" The twins exchanged another look.  
"We like it!" they answered together and then ran off to throw balls at each other.  
That only left them needing someone to walk Deneb down the aisle.  
"We are going to be on the holideck" Chakotay pointed out.  
"Of course!" Deneb shouted excitedly, "Bones! That's perfect! Oh, you're so smart!" She given him a kiss. He hadn't been thinking of that particular doctor, but he wasn't going to argue with her. She still preferred the doctor she'd conjured than the one the Emergency Medical program had instated.  
And therefore, all was set.  
Only the bride was slightly nervous before the ceremony. "Will you stop fidgeting, girl?" the holographic Bones complained just before they started down the aisle, "He's a man not a wolf" Deneb grinned and settled down. The groom emanated a feeling of serenity, and of course happiness. She looked rather young and fragile standing next to him, even in the huge skirt. Still, everyone smiled when Damia took her mother's flowers instead of letting B'Elanna and when Damian told Chakotay he could only have on of the rings because the other was for his mother.  
"Chakotay, do you take this woman as your wife, for good times and bad, until death part you?" Katharine asked in her "authority" voice. Chakotay smiled down at Deneb.  
"I do" he answered.  
"Deneb Katrine Darling Kirk, do you take this man as your husband, for good times and bad, until death do you part?"  
"I do" Katharine had to try hard not to grin. She was, after all, the mother of the bride.  
"Then I now pronounce that you are married. What God has joined together, let no man put asunder" (That was a bit that Deneb had insisted on) "You may now kiss the bride" Applause erupted like thunder and everybody was on their feet as the couple kissed on the alter.  
"Ladies and Gentlemen, may I introduce to you for the first time Mr. and Mrs. Chakotay Darling" More applause followed. Chakotay had no last name and so he had adopted Deneb's. At least for the purpose of this announcement.  
The happy couple filed down the aisle and were followed by their attendants. The holideck program had been programmed so that the reception tent was in the lawn of the church and so everybody proceeded to the festivities. Dinner was served, Deneb and Chakotay had the first dance and they were just about to cut the cake when a bright light alerted them to another wedding guest.  
"What's going on here?" Q demanded.  
"I'm getting married" Deneb answered, hands on hips.  
"To who?" Q wanted to know. Deneb rolled her eyes, knowing he was only asking to goad them.  
"To me" Chakotay answered, a little defensively.  
"What? Oh, Deneb, you could have done so much better than him" Q lamented, but he wasn't serious. Deneb seemed to be the only one who understood his humor.  
"Hmm. Perhaps so, but he's the one I've chosen and I'll thank you not to comment upon it, unless you're going to say something good about it" she retorted. Q laughed and thumped Chakotay on the back.  
"Congratulations, then" he said, "And good luck. You're going to need it" Deneb laughed and they cut the cake.  
"Q, you're welcome to stay if you'd like. As long as you promise not to cause any trouble" Katharine told him a few moments later.  
"Moi? Cause trouble? Why, Katharine, you wound me! Truly!" But he laughed and went to make fun of some of the rest of the crew.  
The rest of the evening was enjoyed by all. The laughing, dancing and over all happiness was a welcome relief from what was often times a tedious journey. The twins managed to cover themselves in holographic dirt and grass-stains before the night was out and they managed to dump the entire gift table when they started poking about in them. (They had been informed that there were gifts for them as well!)  
The night was coming to an end however. B'Elanna and Harry started worrying about the power usage and the twins fell asleep in a corner.  
"Perhaps we ought to call it a night" Chakotay suggested to his new wife. She nodded and got up to look for Katharine, who was taking the children for the night. Before she found her however, there was a small pop and suddenly a strange young man was standing in the middle of their party. Everybody stopped and stared. He turned slowly until he was facing Deneb. A look of pure shock and dread covered her face.  
"David?" 


End file.
